WWillowdale City Council
4281.2k
Social media archiving for New Mexico government
New Mexico: update by day 3. Inspection by day 15.
If inspection is not permitted within three business days, send the required written update. Inspection must occur immediately or as soon as practicable and generally no later than 15 calendar days. Brolly keeps supported social records searchable across both stages.
Supported posts, comments, edits & deletions · Search & export · Metadata & audit trail
State agenciesCounties & citiesSchool districtsSpecial districts
The Deadline
A request lands Monday morning.
What happens next?
Manual methods like screenshots miss metadata, timestamps, edits and deletions — and manual retrieval makes each required action harder to complete inside its window.
1Request inA written IPRA request arrives.
3Written updateIf inspection is not permitted within three business days, a written explanation of when records will be available or when the body will respond is due.
15Outside limitInspection must be permitted immediately or as soon as practicable — no later than 15 calendar days.
The statute defines required actions and when each falls due — not a single production deadline. With Brolly, the searching and compiling become one afternoon.
The Law
Why compliance matters in New Mexico.
Social media content created or received in the course of official business can be a public record in New Mexico. Here is what defines your obligation:
Statute
Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA)
NMSA 1978, § 14-2-1 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.
NMSA 1978 §§ 14-2-8(D), 14-2-10, 14-2-11: Permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, and no later than 15 calendar days after the custodian receives the written request. If inspection is not permitted within 3 business days, the custodian must explain in writing when the records will be available or when the public body will respond (NMSA 1978 §§ 14-2-8(D), 14-2-10, 14-2-11).
Oversight
NM Attorney General (IPRA guidance)
The New Mexico Department of Justice publishes the IPRA compliance guide and enforces the act — the standard your records practices are measured against. Official page.
Transparency
New Mexico Open Meetings Act
NMSA 1978, § 10-15-1 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: NMSA 1978 §§ 14-2-8(D), 14-2-10, 14-2-11 — NMDOJ IPRA Guide pp. 19–23 · 1.21.2 NMAC, item 1.21.2.158 (web management)
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 dates
TCWillowdale County Emergency Info
86244.1k
EditedPWillowdale County Parks
61122.8k
LCedar Street Library
RRiverbend Fire & Rescue
HHarpeth Valley Schools
3 versions
TCWillowdale County Emergency Info
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
The Guide
Download the free New Mexico
Social Media Legislation Guide.
Social media comes with legal responsibilities. This free guide brings together the key federal and New Mexico legislation in one easy-to-read reference — helping your agency understand its obligations and manage social media records with confidence.
Federal & New Mexico legislation, side by side
Public records obligations explained in plain English
Bonus compliance checklist inside
Updated August 2026
PDF · no credit card · straight to your inbox
Built For
Every New Mexico public body.
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
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
Public Agencies
School districts, utility districts, transit authorities, housing authorities and boards — all subject to the IPRA.
- 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 New Mexico government social media posts public records?
Content created or received by a New Mexico public agency in connection with official business may qualify as a public record under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA), 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 does the 15-calendar-day rule require?
Permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, and no later than 15 calendar days after the custodian receives the written request. If inspection is not permitted within 3 business days, the custodian must explain in writing when the records will be available or when the public body will respond (NMSA 1978 §§ 14-2-8(D), 14-2-10, 14-2-11). 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, New Mexico access disputes can be raised with the NM Attorney General (IPRA guidance) and, ultimately, the courts, so agencies should be able to show a complete, defensible record of what was published.
How does the New Mexico Open Meetings Act 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 Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) 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.
Retention
How long do we have to keep social media records?
Retention comes from the records schedules approved for your entity type. New Mexico's published schedules address website records; social media content is mapped to the schedule matching its substance or function, so confirm the mapping with your records authority. Brolly retains records for the period you configure.
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 Records 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 New Mexico 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: NM Attorney General (IPRA guidance) · NMSA 1978, § 14-2-1 et seq. · Last reviewed against primary sources: 2026-08-28 · General information, not legal advice
Trusted by government
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Insights made actionable.
Communities made safer.
That’s Brolly.
Purpose-built for government. Trusted by teams that protect and serve.
5.0 out of 5 starsRated on G2 by verified users
“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.
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.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022Certified information security management system.
CSA STAR registeredListed on the Cloud Security Alliance STAR registry.
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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See how easy IPRA compliance can be.
Every day your public sector organization communicates on social media, you're creating public records. Are you confident you could produce them tomorrow?
Comply with IPRA requirements
Protect against reputational & legal risk
Deliver faster, more efficient public service
A 20-minute walkthrough of Brolly — no obligation. Setup takes minutes.
Consultation is free, no commitment — records officers welcome.