5 Questions to Ask about Your Social Media Records as Legal Evidence
John Mancini

By: John Mancini on December 11th, 2017

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5 Questions to Ask about Your Social Media Records as Legal Evidence

Electronic Records Management (ERM)  |  Social Media

It's an embarrassing question to ask most organizations, but does your social media presence reflect the reality that the responsibility of business documentation doesn’t go away just because the information is on social media?

The reality for most organizations is no. Recent research conducted by Iron Mountain revealed that 76 percent of businesses regard communications by social media as formal business records, but 46 percent have no idea that they carry a legal responsibility for their content through social media channels. And, a third of the businesses surveyed describe their management of social media as “unmanaged and chaotic.”

Content on social media has a set of unusual issues – who actually owns it, who controls rights to access it, and what responsibilities does a company have to how this information is managed? Multiple jurisdictions, overlapping laws, different vendors, as well as complex technical issues all add to slowing the development of social media law. It’s a race where technology seems to be always ahead of the law.

Let’s consider five key eDiscovery questions that you need to ask about your organization’s social media presence.

  1. Can you reproduce social media information in a timely and complete way?

  2. Can you reproduce social media content in context?

  3. Can you demonstrate the integrity and authenticity of social media information?

  4. Do you know who actually owns the information on social media sites?

  5. Are you communicating on public sites or private sites? And do you know the implications of each?

Find out more in my new Tip Sheet -- How can your online social media content be used against you?

 

Free Tip Sheet: How Can Your Social Media Be Used Against You?

About John Mancini

John Mancini is the President of Content Results, LLC and the Past President of AIIM. He is a well-known author, speaker, and advisor on information management, digital transformation and intelligent automation. John is a frequent keynote speaker and author of more than 30 eBooks on a variety of topics. He can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as jmancini77. Recent keynote topics include: The Stairway to Digital Transformation Navigating Disruptive Waters — 4 Things You Need to Know to Build Your Digital Transformation Strategy Getting Ahead of the Digital Transformation Curve Viewing Information Management Through a New Lens Digital Disruption: 6 Strategies to Avoid Being “Blockbustered” Specialties: Keynote speaker and writer on AI, RPA, intelligent Information Management, Intelligent Automation and Digital Transformation. Consensus-building with Boards to create strategic focus, action, and accountability. Extensive public speaking and public relations work Conversant and experienced in major technology issues and trends. Expert on inbound and content marketing, particularly in an association environment and on the Hubspot platform. John is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of William and Mary, and holds an M.A. in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.