Social media archiving for South Dakota government

South Dakota starts informally—then the 10-business-day formal clock begins.

Begin with an informal request. If it is denied or ignored, the public-records officer must answer the formal written request within 10 business days; silence is a deemed denial. Brolly keeps supported social records searchable across both steps.

See a response-ready export Start a 30-day free trial
Supported posts, comments, edits & deletions · Search & export · Metadata & audit trail
State agenciesCounties & citiesSchool districtsSpecial districts
The South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre
Pierre, South Dakota · Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture, CC BY-SA 4.0
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.

1Informal firstThe process starts with an informal request — oral or written — to the record's custodian.
2Written requestIf the informal request is denied or unanswered in whole or in part, a formal written request goes to the public record officer.
10AnswerThe written request must be answered within 10 business days: provide, deny, or acknowledge with a time estimate — silence is a deemed denial.
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 South Dakota.

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

Statute

South Dakota Public Records and Files law

SDCL ch. 1-27 — 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.

SDCL §§ 1-27-35 to 1-27-38: South Dakota's process starts with an informal request. If that request is denied or goes unanswered in whole or in part, a formal written request to the public record officer must be answered within 10 business days: provide the record, deny the request, or acknowledge receipt with an estimate of the time reasonably required to respond. No response within 10 business days is deemed a denial (SDCL § 1-27-37).

Oversight

SD Office of Hearing Examiners (records disputes)

The South Dakota Office of Hearing Examiners hears administrative appeals of records denials — a formal review of your responses short of court. Official page.

Transparency

South Dakota Open Meetings Law

SDCL ch. 1-25 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: SDCL §§ 1-27-37 and 1-27-1.1 · South Dakota Records Management Reference Guide

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 South Dakota — Archiving Social Media: A Guide For Government
The Guide

Download the free South Dakota
Social Media Legislation Guide.

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

Federal & South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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
A fire engine in a city fire station

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
A utility crew restoring service from a bucket truck

Public Agencies

School districts, utility districts, transit authorities, housing authorities and boards — all subject to the South Dakota Public Records and Files 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 South Dakota government social media posts public records?
Content created or received by a South Dakota public agency in connection with official business may qualify as a public record under the South Dakota Public Records and Files 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 does South Dakota's written-request rule require?
South Dakota's process starts with an informal request. If that request is denied or goes unanswered in whole or in part, a formal written request to the public record officer must be answered within 10 business days: provide the record, deny the request, or acknowledge receipt with an estimate of the time reasonably required to respond. No response within 10 business days is deemed a denial (SDCL § 1-27-37). 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, South Dakota access disputes can be raised with the SD Office of Hearing Examiners (records disputes) and, ultimately, the courts, so agencies should be able to show a complete, defensible record of what was published.
How does the South Dakota 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 South Dakota Public Records and Files 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.

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 South Dakota 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: SD Office of Hearing Examiners (records disputes) · SDCL ch. 1-27 · Last reviewed against primary sources: 2026-08-28 · General information, not legal advice

Trusted by government

Compliance made easy.
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
A smiling government records officer working at a laptop

“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.

From a verified G2 review — Verified User in US Government Administration
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
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.

Explore more US public records guides

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

Borders South Dakota

All states

See how easy Public-records 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 South Dakota Public Records and Files law requirements Protect against reputational & legal risk Deliver faster, more efficient public service

A 20-minute walkthrough of Brolly — no obligation. Setup takes minutes.

Get a demo Start free trial

Consultation is free, no commitment — records officers welcome.