Social media archiving for Louisiana government

Louisiana records follow three timing routes.

Records not in active use must be produced immediately. Active-use records require written certification and access within three days; questioned public status requires a written determination within five days, excluding weekends and legal public holidays. Brolly keeps supported social records searchable across every route.

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Supported posts, comments, edits & deletions · Search & export · Metadata & audit trail
State agenciesCounties & citiesSchool districtsSpecial districts
The Louisiana State Capitol tower in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana · Photo: Chrismiceli, CC0
The Deadline

A request lands Monday morning.
What happens next?

Manual methods like screenshots miss metadata, timestamps, edits and deletions — and scrambling to pull posts from multiple platforms manually is not a process that fits inside a 5-day window.

1Request inA citizen asks for every post and comment about a recent decision — including anything deleted.
2ScopingWhich accounts? Which platforms? Which date range? The inventory alone takes a day.
3SearchingManual trawling across Facebook, X and Instagram begins.
4ReviewingScreenshots have no metadata. Platform exports miss comments. Gaps appear.
5Act byThe statute's required action falls due — produce, respond, or send the applicable notice, depending on your law.
That's 5 days (excluding weekends and legal public holidays) to issue a written determination when a record's public status is questioned. Not "when we get around to it." With Brolly, the searching and compiling become one afternoon.

Records not in active use must be produced immediately. The five-day window, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays, applies to the written determination when a record’s public status is questioned; a record in active use instead requires a certification of that fact fixing a day and hour, within three days, when it will be available (La. R.S. 44:32(D), 44:33(B)(1)).

The Law

Why compliance matters in Louisiana.

Social media content created or received in the course of official business can be a public record in Louisiana. Here is what defines your obligation:

Statute

Louisiana Public Records Law

La. R.S. 44:1 et seq. — defines public records by content rather than medium. Posts, comments, replies, edits and deletions created or received in the course of official business can qualify.

La. R.S. 44:32(D); 44:33(B)(1): Records not in active use must be produced immediately. Where a record's public status is questioned, the custodian must issue a written determination within 5 days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays (La. R.S. 44:32(D)). Where the record is in active use, the custodian must certify that fact in writing and fix a day and hour, within 3 days, when the record will be available (La. R.S. 44:33(B)(1)).

Enforcement

Courts decide disputes

Louisiana has no dedicated records ombudsman — access disputes go to court. Failure to provide lawful access may result in court proceedings and, depending on state law, costs, attorney-fee awards or other remedies.

Transparency

Louisiana Open Meetings Law

La. R.S. 42:11 et seq. demands openness and accountability in how public bodies meet and decide. Open-meetings duties are a separate layer from records law — and a timestamped record of what your agency publishes helps you answer questions under both.

Scope

Social media records may include

Depending on content and context — with metadata and timestamps intact, including material edited or deleted after posting:

PostsComments & repliesReactionsEditsDeletionsImages & videoDirect messages

What is producible in a given request depends on the record's content and the exemptions your state applies.

Primary sources: La. R.S. 44:32(D) and 44:33(B)(1) · Louisiana State Archives records-management rules, Part XVII

Manual methods vs. Brolly

What your agency needs
Screenshots & exports
Brolly
Capture comments & replies as they happen
Only what staff remember to save
Automatic capture across supported channels
Preserve edits & deletions
Gone before anyone notices
Full version history retained
Metadata & timestamps
Stripped by screenshots
Kept in full; exports checksummed
Respond inside the statutory window
Days of cross-platform scrambling
Saved search → export in minutes
Defensible in court or under audit
Unverifiable provenance
Immutable records + audit logs
See It In Action

The record is already there.

“A delight to use,” says one verified G2 review — this is the screen your records officer gets: search the archive, open the record, step through every captured version, and export.

One post, start to finish

One official update. Its captured history beside it.

This is how simple it is in Brolly: the original post, its edited versions and the surrounding public comments, reviewed together.

01
Your agency publishes

A connected official account posts an emergency update as the situation develops.

02
The post is edited

Opening time and access details change — each captured version is retained with its timestamp.

03
A request arrives

Your team searches, reviews the chronology and exports it — checksums, audit logs and integrity evidence attached.

Brolly Archive

Archive feed

Captured posts and conversations from connected accounts

All networksAll accountsAll dates12 captured posts
4281.2k
86244.1k
Edited
61122.8k
Post Inspector
3 versions
Storm shelter update: The community center opens at 8 p.m. 6 p.m. tonight. Bring ID and essential medication. Accessible entrance on Cedar Street.
♡ 86　◯ 24　◉ 4.1k　◉ 6.7k
Demonstration export prepared

Access control & audit logs

Clerks, counsel and records officers each get the access they need — and every export is logged.

Images, video & links

Media and link previews are captured with the post, so the record shows what residents actually saw.

Structured exports

PDF, CSV, HTML or JSON with timestamps and checksums attached — ready for a requester or counsel.

Free download Louisiana — Archiving Social Media: A Guide For Government
The Guide

Download the free Louisiana
Social Media Legislation Guide.

Social media comes with legal responsibilities. This free guide brings together the key federal and Louisiana legislation in one easy-to-read reference — helping your agency understand its obligations and manage social media records with confidence.

Federal & Louisiana legislation, side by side Public records obligations explained in plain English Bonus compliance checklist inside Updated August 2026
Download now

PDF · no credit card · straight to your inbox

Built For

Every Louisiana public body.

County courthouse with clock tower

Counties

Sheriff's offices, clerks, mayors, highway departments, election commissions — every official account, one archive.

  • County-wide multi-account capture
  • Records-officer-ready export workflows
  • Records retained until disposition is authorized under state records law
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Cities & Municipalities

From metro communications teams to a single town clerk running two Facebook pages — sized and priced accordingly.

  • Police, fire, parks, utilities covered
  • Emergency-communication preservation
  • Setup in minutes
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Public Agencies

School districts, utility districts, transit authorities, housing authorities and boards — all subject to the Louisiana Public Records Law.

  • Board & superintendent accounts
  • Public comment threads on record
  • Request-ready exports on demand
The Reference Layer

Asked by clerks, records officers and agency attorneys.

Plain-English answers with statutory citations — the details your counsel will ask about. General information, not legal advice.

The obligation

Are Louisiana government social media posts public records?
Content created or received by a Louisiana public agency in connection with official business may qualify as a public record under the Louisiana Public Records Law, whether it appears in email, a document or a social media platform. Content and context matter, and statutory exceptions may apply, so agencies should follow their records policies and obtain legal guidance for specific requests.
What do Louisiana's response deadlines require?
Records not in active use must be produced immediately. Where a record's public status is questioned, the custodian must issue a written determination within 5 days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays (La. R.S. 44:32(D)). Where the record is in active use, the custodian must certify that fact in writing and fix a day and hour, within 3 days, when the record will be available (La. R.S. 44:33(B)(1)). Missing the required action can trigger an appeal, complaint or court challenge, so agencies should confirm current procedures with legal counsel and be ready to produce.
What happens if we can't produce a requested record?
Records that were edited or deleted before anyone captured them can't be produced at all — which is why capture has to precede the request. If a request is refused, Louisiana access disputes are decided by the courts, so agencies should be able to show a complete, defensible record of what was published.
How does the Louisiana Open Meetings Law relate to our social media?
Open-meetings duties are a separate layer from records law. Ordinary resident comments aren't a meeting of your governing body — but when members themselves discuss public business in comment threads, questions can arise under both laws, and a timestamped record of what your agency publishes helps you answer them.

What counts as a record

Do citizen comments on our official pages count?
Generally, records received in the course of official business fall within scope — which can include comments and replies on official accounts, even ones citizens later delete. That's why capture must happen in real time.
Do edited or deleted posts still have to be produced?
A record doesn't stop being a record because it was edited or removed from the live page. If content was made or received in official business, each captured version, with its timestamps, can be part of what your agency needs to produce.
Can direct messages be public records?
They can be. The Louisiana Public Records Law defines public records by content rather than medium, so a message sent or received in the course of official business can fall within scope even in a private inbox. Whether specific messages are producible or exempt is a determination for your counsel.
What about an official's personal account?
Content follows function, not the account label: a personal account used to conduct official business can create public records. The safest policy routes official business through official accounts — and keeps those accounts on the record.

Fees & enforcement

Can attorney fees be awarded in a Louisiana records dispute?
A requester who prevails in full is awarded reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs against the public body; partial success makes the award discretionary (La. R.S. 44:35(D)). Damages and daily civil penalties require arbitrary or capricious withholding, and fee amounts are capped at Attorney-General-approved rates.

Working with Brolly

We already take screenshots. Isn't that enough?
Screenshots miss metadata, timestamps, edit history and deletions — and can't prove they haven't been altered. Brolly's records carry audit logs, and exports carry digital checksums, designed to survive legal scrutiny.
Which platforms does Brolly archive?
Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok — captured automatically through official platform APIs from connected accounts.
Who in our organization uses Brolly?
Typically your Custodian, clerk or records staff handle search and export; communications teams use capture and moderation day-to-day; agency attorneys pull audit logs when litigation or records disputes arise.
How quickly can a Louisiana agency get started?
Minutes: connect your accounts, confirm retention settings, and capture begins immediately. There's a free trial, and pricing scales from single-clerk towns to county-wide deployments.
Will Brolly pass our procurement and security review?
Brolly is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and CSA STAR registered, with controls aligned to NIST SP 800-53. Records are encrypted in transit and at rest, with audit logs on every record and digital checksums on every export.

Primary source: La. R.S. 44:1 et seq. · Last reviewed against primary sources: 2026-08-28 · General information, not legal advice

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“Brolly: The total package for documentation and archiving.”

Brolly is a vital tool for our organization and is the total package for documentation and archiving needs.

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Trust

Security your procurement team can sign off on.

Brolly is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and CSA STAR registered, with controls aligned to NIST SP 800-53. Records are encrypted in transit and at rest, with audit logs on every record and digital checksums on every export.

Visit the Trust & Security Center
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NIST SP 800-53 alignedControls aligned for public-sector security review.
Encrypted everywhereAES-256 at rest, TLS 1.3+ in transit.
99.9% uptime SLAAvailability commitment in the service agreement.
MFA & role-based accessAccess scoped to your team, with activity logged.

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State-by-state guidance on social media archiving laws for government agencies.

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Every day your public sector organization communicates on social media, you're creating public records. Are you confident you could produce them tomorrow?

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