Are a Tennessee city's Facebook posts and citizen comments on a city Twitter feed public records?

Plain-English summary

The Senate Majority Leader asked the AG six questions about how Tennessee's Public Records Act (TPRA, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503) applies to city-run social media accounts. The AG worked through them as follows:

• A municipal social media account (Facebook page, Twitter feed, etc.) created or maintained "in connection with the transaction of official business" is itself a public record. So are any official-business comments posted to it by the city or its officials.
• The TPRA does not address whether the city may delete or moderate citizen comments. The TPRA is a disclosure statute, not a content-moderation rulebook. (First Amendment public-forum doctrine may impose separate limits, but the AG did not address that.)
• Records about who administers the account, including the appointment process and the administrator's identity, are also public records to the extent the city maintains records about them in connection with official business.
• The records custodian must respond to a records request following § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B): produce promptly, or within seven business days either produce, deny in writing with the basis, or provide a Open Records Counsel form estimating the response time.
• If a request is denied or ignored, the citizen may sue under § 10-7-505 in chancery or circuit court for judicial review. They may also consult the Office of Open Records Counsel for informal mediation and advisory opinions (§ 8-4-601).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What makes a social media account a "public record"?
A: The TPRA defines a public record as material "made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of official business by any government entity." § 10-7-503(a)(1)(A). A city's official Facebook page or Twitter account, used to post updates, alerts, meeting notices, and similar content, meets that definition.

Q: What about a personal social media account belonging to an elected official?
A: The AG did not address that directly. The key is whether the account is being used to transact "official business." A purely personal account ordinarily would not qualify; an account that an official uses for both personal and official communications creates harder line-drawing problems.

Q: Are citizen comments on the city's official page public records?
A: The opinion treats the entire account, including comments posted on it, as public records when the account is being used for official business. That covers official-business comments posted by city officials. Citizen comments are part of the account record as well; the AG did not parse out citizen-only vs. official-only comments in the analysis.

Q: Can the city delete or moderate citizen comments?
A: The TPRA does not answer this. The opinion explicitly says the statute only addresses inspection, not deletion or censorship. Separately, federal First Amendment law treats government-run social media pages used for public engagement as limited public forums, which may impose constitutional restrictions on viewpoint-based deletion. The AG opinion does not weigh in on that constitutional question.

Q: What is the response timeline?
A: The records custodian must promptly make non-exempt records available. If that is not practicable, within seven business days the custodian must either (1) make the record available, (2) deny in writing with reasons, or (3) provide an Open Records Counsel form estimating how long the response will take.

Q: What remedies does a citizen have if a city refuses or stalls?
A: Two options. File suit under § 10-7-505 in chancery or circuit court in the county where the records are located, asking for judicial review. Or consult the Office of Open Records Counsel under § 8-4-601, which can give informal advice, issue advisory opinions, and help mediate disputes.

Background and statutory framework

The TPRA is Tennessee's open-records law. It declares state, county, and municipal records open for inspection by any Tennessee citizen unless another state law provides an exemption. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A). The definition of "public record" (§ 10-7-503(a)(1)(A)) is medium-neutral, covering anything from paper letters to electronic data processing files to "other material regardless of physical form or characteristics," made or received in connection with official business.

The opinion applies that definition to social media accounts. The medium is novel, but the legal analysis is the same as for any other official-business record: if the city created or maintains it in connection with official business, it is a public record.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 (Tennessee Public Records Act; definition, right of inspection, response procedure)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-505 (judicial review of records-request denials)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-4-601 (Office of Open Records Counsel)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2016/op16-047.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
December 22, 2016
Opinion No. 16-47

Application of Tennessee Public Records Act to Municipal Social Media Accounts

Question 1
Are the social media accounts created and maintained by a municipality a matter of public record?

Opinion 1
To the extent a municipal social media account is made "pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business," that account and any comments posted on the account constitute public records subject to inspection under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

Question 2
Are the comments on social media accounts created and maintained by a municipality subject to removal or censorship by the municipality's social media administrator?

Opinion 2
The Tennessee Public Records Act does not address whether comments posted on a municipal social media account are subject to removal or censorship. The Tennessee Public Records Act only provides a statutory right of inspection of public records to Tennessee citizens.

Question 3
Is the appointment process and identity of a social media administrator for a municipal social media account a matter of public record?

Opinion 3
To the extent a municipality has any "public records," as defined under Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(A), with respect to the appointment and identity of an administrator of a social media account established by that municipality, those records are subject to inspection under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

Question 4
Are comments regarding official business made by officials of a municipality on the municipality's social media website a matter of public record?

Opinion 4
To the extent a municipal social media account is made "pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business," any comments posted on the account constitute public records subject to inspection under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

Question 5
What is a municipality's duty to respond to inquiries, regarding official business, by a citizen?

Opinion 5
A records custodian of municipal public records is required to respond to a public records request in accordance with the procedures set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B).

Question 6
What is the process available to a citizen who believes that public documents are not being produced as required in response to a request?

Opinion 6
If a records custodian denies a request for public records or otherwise fails to timely respond to the request in accordance with the procedures set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2), the Tennessee citizen making the request may bring an action pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-505 in chancery or circuit court for the county in which the records are situated for judicial review of the denial of access to the requested records. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(b). A member of the public may also consult with the Office of Open Records Counsel, who has the authority to answer questions, to issue informal advisory opinions, and to informally mediate and assist with the resolution of issues concerning the open records laws.

ANALYSIS

1. Municipal Social Media Accounts Constituting Public Records

Tennessee's Public Records Act ("TPRA") provides that "[a]ll state, county and municipal records shall, at all times during business hours, . . . be open for inspection by any citizen of this state, and those in charge of the records shall not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen, unless otherwise provided by state law." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(A). For purposes of the TPRA, a "public record" is defined as "all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound records, or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of official business by any government entity." Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(A).

To the extent a municipal social media account or website is made "pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business," then that municipal social media account, including any comments regarding official business posted by municipal officials on the account, are public records subject to inspection under the TPRA.

2. Comments on Municipal Social Media Accounts Subject to Censorship

The TPRA does not address whether comments posted on a municipal social media account are subject to removal or censorship. The TPRA only provides a statutory right of inspection of public records to Tennessee citizens.

3. Appointment of Administrator of Municipal Social Media Account

To the extent a municipality has any "public records," as that term is defined under Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(A), with respect to the appointment or identity of an administrator of a social media account established by that municipality, such records are public records subject to inspection under the TPRA.

4. Comments on Municipal Social Media Website as Public Records

See analysis section 1, above.

5. Municipal Response to Public Records Request

The TPRA provides that a custodian of a public record, or the custodian's designee, shall promptly make available for inspection any public records not specifically exempt from disclosure. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B). If, however, it is not practicable for the record to be promptly made available for inspection, the custodian is required to respond within seven business days by: (1) making the record available to the requestor, (2) denying the request in writing and including the basis for the denial, or (3) providing a "completed records request response form developed by the office of open records counsel stating the time reasonably necessary to produce the record or information." Id.

6. Remedy for Denial of Request or Failure to Respond

If a records custodian denies a request for public records or otherwise fails to timely respond in accordance with the procedures set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2), the Tennessee citizen making the request may bring an action pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-505 in chancery or circuit court for the county in which the records are situated for judicial review of the denial of access to the requested records. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(b). Additionally, a person requesting municipal public records may consult with the Office of Open Records Counsel, who has the authority to answer questions and issues advisory opinions to local government officials, members of the public and the media, as well as the authority to informally mediate and assist with the resolution of issues concerning the open records laws. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-4-601.

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

JANET M. KLEINFELTER
Deputy Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Mark Norris
Senate Majority Leader
9A Legislative Plaza
Nashville, Tennessee 37243