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33 I L T A N E T . O R G and Federal Trade Commission issued a joint statement that they were updating language in their standard preservation letters and other notifications in government investigations and litigation "to address the increased use of collaboration tools and ephemeral messaging platforms in the modern workplace." The press release on the change warned of spoliation sanctions for abuse of ephemeral communication technologies. According to a report from the World Bank, the amount of data stored, transferred, and used globally is growing from one zettabyte (one zettabyte = one billion terabytes) in 2010 to an anticipated 180+ zettabytes in 2025. A report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration stated that 83% of people in the U.S. aged three and up used the internet in some way in 2023. That is 83% of the population generating some electronically stored information (ESI) that could be discoverable data during litigation. This massive influx of information is impacting litigation. Increasing data types and volumes are two of the top three issues affecting the eDiscovery industry, according to a 2023 survey of ediscovery professionals. The importance— and burden—of ediscovery will likely continue to increase alongside the increasing adoption of various technologies. Adding to the overwhelming volume of data law firms must handle, the Ari Kaplan Advisors research reports of the respondents reported that the volume of data they manage for average litigation is increasing, half reported that the number of documents, records, or exhibits they use at trial has remained about the same. In other words, the needle is still the same size, but the haystack keeps expanding. With the increasing velocity of tech adoption, wealth of communication platforms, ease of sharing information digitally, and increasing variety of media types, the exponential growth of discovery data sets is not just a limited trend. It is the state of play in litigation for the foreseeable future. This article will explore the exponential growth of data, what challenges this creates for litigation teams, and how teams can address these changes. GROWING VOLUME AND VARIETY OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY DATA The use of traditional electronic communications like email and text messages and the ever-growing host of ephemeral messaging apps, social media platforms, and collaboration software is nearly unavoidable at work and outside the office. The impact of a significant increase in electronic communication is present within legal litigation processes as well. For example, earlier in 2024, the United States Department of Justice FEATURES

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