Brazos County Adopts Social Media Policy

Tribune News Service — Brazos County commissioners on Tuesday adopted a new social media policy governing the use of sites such as Facebook, X, Instagram, NextDoor and more by county employees.

The policy was adopted without comment by the commissioners. The 23-page document also covers blogs, wikis, video sites, various websites — essentially any online presence related to the county. The policy does not include elected officials.

“Elected officials may create their own official social media presences and are highly encouraged, but not required, to follow this policy,” the policy states.

Ed Bull, general counsel for the county, said elected officials have more leeway with their online content than county employees.

Social media management falls under the auspices of the public communications officer and/or the digital services officer. All county social media sites must be approved by the county judge and the requesting department head.

The policy governs what can and cannot be posted online. Employees acting on behalf of the county are prohibited from posting obscene or profane language, sexual content or links to sexual content, threats to any person or organization, discriminatory content, content that promotes or opposes political candidates or ballot initiatives, content that promotes commercial services or products, or any content that compromises safety or security of the public or public systems.

Privileged and confidential information cannot be disclosed on social media sites, nor anything that violates legal ownership interest of another party. Content that could be seen as promoting or potentially creating revenue for a third party is prohibited. The policy prohibits use of banned platforms such as TikTok, Rednote and Lemon8.

All social media authors, moderators and administrators are required to have annual training on the county’s policy.

To comply with the Texas Public Information Act, no content on a county site may be removed or deleted. Administrators can choose to hide content, but it must be preserved and archived.

“Brazos County respects individuals’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and elected officials and departments heads are strictly prohibited from blocking, banning, deleting or restricting users’ ability to comment and interact. No post or comment will ever be deleted, but Brazos County reserves the right to hide any post or comment deemed in violation of this policy or any applicable law,” the policy states.

In the best practices section the policy emphasizes transparency, making sure people use their real names, identify themselves as county employees and making it clear if they have a vested interest in the subject they are discussing. It says any mistakes should be admitted and corrected as quickly as possible. Employees also should avoid getting into arguments or debates online.

“There can be a fine line between healthy debate and incendiary reaction. Do not defame others or the county. It is not necessary to respond to every criticism or negative comment. Frame what you write to invite differing points of view without inflaming others.

“Some topics, like politics, slide easily into sensitive territory. Be careful and considerate. Once the words are out there, you cannot get them back. Once an inflammatory discussion gets going, it’s hard to stop,” the policy says.

The policy clearly states that any threatening comments will be reported to law enforcement. Any county employee who violates the social media policy will face disciplinary action that can include termination of employment.

The policy does not govern what employees do with their own personal accounts so long as they don’t use their position with the county inappropriately.

© 2026 The Eagle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.