When posting on an official government social media account, messages (posts, comments and direct messages) created or received by a public officer should be managed as a public record in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973. You should be keeping all records as required by your department, including any contextual metadata. It is a statutory requirement. However, every government entity has varied requirements for how long each record should be kept and the recording method. Visit the Public Record Office Victoria’s guide for more information on how to comply with your social media record keeping obligations, visit the Public Records Office Victoria website.
You can capture social media records manually by screenshotting messages, downloading inbox data from social media scheduling software (linking original posts and assets to the comments) or by utilising a records management software. Agencies should seek only to capture personal information when it is necessary to the agency’s activities or functions and de-identify information that is no longer needed for any purpose. For more information on the privacy requirements for record keeping, please visit PROV’s guide on privacy requirements.
As part of their obligations, social media teams should – at a minimum – be recording the following information:
- Date and time the message was sent or received
- For messages sent from your account: the name of the public officer that sent the message, who authorised the message, and to whom it was sent
- For messages sent to your account: The public officer (if different from who sent the original message) and account name that received the message, the person to whom it was sent, and the name used by the person who posted the message (no need to determine the sender’s actual identity)
- The purpose (context) of the message
- The name of the social media application that the message was published on.
An example is available in Appendix B.
Records will need to be retained in line with a relevant retention and disposal authority, and be disposed of lawfully in accordance with a disposal instrument authorised by the Keeper of Public Records. See your agency’s records/information management team for information on how your agency manages records.
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