Discovery of Social Media Evidence in Legal Proceedings

The appeal of social media is hard to ignore, as evidenced by the increasing number and variety of social media platforms and the numbers of people using them. Information documented on social media can include photos, videos, location, date, time, communications, and activities, often in real time. As people continue to share their lives and communicate on social media, information that was once considered private is now made public.

Information documented on social media is often spontaneous, relatively permanent, and easily accessible. Such information may be important evidence in legal proceedings. Not surprisingly, social media sites are increasingly becoming the focus of discovery. Accordingly, attorneys should become familiar with legal and ethical issues surrounding discovery of social media evidence.