Text Messages Subject to eDiscovery

Text Messages Subject to eDiscovery

Companies still trying to cope with how long they should keep their emails in storage to meet compliance demands are facing another noisome problem. What should they do about text messages sent and received on phones they issue their employees?

The classic case of text messages obtained through electronic discovery playing a pivotal role in a lawsuit is the conviction on perjury charges of Detroit’s mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Ironically, it was a city directive re-authorized by the mayor’s administration during his first term in office that opened the door for obtaining the text messages of city employees through eDiscovery. That directive required that all electronic communication on city equipment be “used in an honest, ethical, and legal manner” and warned city workers that such communication “is not considered to be personal or private.” Read More …