publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/221442
SOCIAL MEDIA POISED TO BE HUGE E-DISCOVERY CHALLENGE SOCIAL MEDIA DISCOVERY NOT YET MAINSTREAM PRACTICE Which of the following types of "social" technologies do you utilize at work? EMAIL EXTERNAL SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR BUSINESS INSTANT MESSAGING EXTERNAL SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR PERSONAL USE INTERNAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 991+9= 628+372= 584+416= 504+496= 283+717= 91.9% 62.8% 58.4% 50.4% 28.3% Source: eDJ Group Social Experience Survey, September 2013 52+32+16 DON'T KNOW Have you had to collect/preserve ESI from external social media content (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) for litigation, regulatory requests or internal investigations? Source: eDJ Group Social Experience Survey, September 2013 Still, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the email scenario, information management professionals have shown a great interest in social media discovery. While it has been a topic du jour, social media discovery does not seem to be forcing real action, despite the reality that case law has established the discoverability of social media in criminal and civil litigation. Ignoring social media in e-discovery strategies could lead to sanctions, adverse inferences and higher than expected e-discovery costs. 15.7% 32.4% YES 51.9% NO Despite this reality, businesses are behind the social media governance curve — and well behind it, at that. First, less than half of respondents (41 percent) report having usage policies in place for social media. In contrast, over 85 percent of respondents indicate a usage policy is in place for email. Perhaps even more alarming, though, is that less than 20 percent of respondents have a plan in place to collect and preserve this type of social media should the need arise.