Navigating Social Media Retention and Collection During E-Discovery | JDSupra
Social media (“SoMe”) is so enmeshed in our daily lives it is difficult to imagine the time when we didn’t have it. Through our phones, computers and tablets, social media provides instant communication and connection, with people posting about their successes, vacations, sporting and entertainment events, and their favorite memes or videos. Companies and organizations use SoMe to gain market advantage, shape and model their own image, market and advertise to customers, track how effective their marketing campaigns might be, understand who their customers are, test new products or services and provide a platform through which customers can provide feedback. Every post or piece of analytics could be considered a “business record,” subjecting it to discovery in both civil and criminal litigation, internal and government investigations or audits. As a result, attorneys and their IT teams should understand the best practices for preserving, processing, reviewing, and producing data from SoMe sites to acquire valuable – and usable – evidence.