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Public Records Commission adopts tighter social media and email retention rules
Summary
The Public Records Commission voted to amend the Metro General Record Schedule to limit retention of social media comments and to move emails into a correspondence category that distinguishes policy-related records (kept two years) from routine correspondence (shorter retention).
The Public Records Commission on a unanimous voice vote approved three amendments to the Metro General Record Schedule that narrow how long the city retains social media content and reorganize email retention rules.
The amendments, presented by records staff, require that social-media posts and comments be retained for 30 days by default, with full retention beyond 30 days only if a post is deemed historical and archived through myMetroArchives. The change also reduces the amount of social-media metadata the city promises to keep and states that routine public comments on posts will not be retained as part of the official record.
Records staff said the state law requires Metro to adopt a records schedule for agency documents and that the proposed edits reflect modern communication patterns. “I’ll just tell you about it. So there’s several amendments here. The first one deals with social media,” the presenter said, describing the 30-day default window. The presenter added that newer platforms may not preserve metadata consistently and that the Department of Law does not see substantial value in keeping commenters’ text as government records.
The second set of changes reclassifies email. The amendments move email out of a category labeled “working papers,” instead treating email as part of correspondence. Under the new structure, correspondence that establishes policy, procedures or program administration will be retained for two years; routine or repetitive correspondence without historic value may be disposed of once obsolete. “If it’s making policy, then you need to keep it at least two years. But if it’s just routine and has no historical value, you can get rid of it when it’s obsolete,” the presenter said.
Commissioners asked how the policy will apply to mayoral or council social-media accounts and whether personal accounts would be treated differently. The presenter said accounts clearly tied to official duties may be treated as government records and that staff should consult myMetroArchives when in doubt. A commissioner asked for a definition of “historical value”; staff replied that preservation is discretionary and that departments should contact myMetroArchives to request long-term retention.
A motion to adopt the three amendments was made and seconded; the commission approved the amendments by voice vote and signed the adoption sheet.
The commission also read standard appeal-rights language reminding parties that after a contested hearing they may seek review in chancery or circuit court in Davidson County by filing a writ of certiorari within 60 days.
