This is another great article from Legal Technology News, illustrating the discoverability of social media information. While courts are still working out the finer points of what is and is not discoverable, everyone should take note that your social networking information is always at risk of coming back to bite you. For litigators, this tool is becoming more and more necessary. A good cross-examination always depends on the witness mis-stating, mis-remembering, or out right fabricating a statement that is inconsistent with previous behavior or a previous statement. Surveillance depends on people acting inconsistently in public and is an effective tool in litigation. Social networking and social media provide the exact same opportunity; that is to uncover inconsistent public behavior.
The most interesting thing about this article to me is that facebook has now added an application to allow a user to download their entire profile history. A litigant could request a plaintiff to do this in discovery if it would lead to admissible evidence that could not be found in any other manner. I’m not aware of a court ordering a plaintiff to perform such a download but I would not be surprised to see the issue come up soon.