The Harris County District Clerk’s Office (the “HCDCO”) recognizes social media as a valuable communication tool to support its mission of transparency, accessibility, and public service.

While the HCDCO encourages public engagement on its social media platforms, certain types of speech are not protected under applicable law and may be hidden or removed in accordance with federal case law.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Advocacy of Violence or Illegal Activity: Comments that advocate, incite, or encourage violence or other unlawful conduct.
• Criminal Threats: Comments that contain direct threats of violence or other criminal activity, as defined under applicable local, state, or federal law.
• Obscenity: Comments containing obscenity, which is defined as sexually explicit and/or pornographic content that is patently offensive, appeals to prurient interest, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
• Unlawful Discrimination: Comments that directly promote or advocate for our office to illegally discriminate based on race, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other legally protected class if such comments violate local, state, or federal law.
• Malware or Malicious Content: Comments containing links to malware and/or malicious content that affects the normal functioning of a computer system, server, app, or browser.
• Commercial Solicitations or Spam: Comments containing unauthorized advertisements, repetitive posts, or irrelevant promotional content.
• Fraudulent or Misleading Information: Content that impersonates others or intentionally spreads false information in a misleading manner.