Legal Executive Institute
White Paper: Authenticating Social Media Evidence
March 15, 2018
By Daniel B. Garrie
Social media evidence in particular presents unique challenges as to authentication because it can be difficult to attribute statements or actions taken via the Internet to a specific person.
Individuals often have many social media and email accounts, in which they may or may not use their real names. In addition, “hacking” social media accounts — whereby an unauthorized user accesses another individual’s account — is becoming an increasingly common occurrence, which creates an opportunity for plausible deniability regarding any specific instance of authorship.
In light of these issues and the growing prevalence of social media evidence, trial attorneys must understand the rules and case law surrounding authentication of these materials at trial as well as how courts and judges may look at how such evidence gathered from social media will be authenticated and allowed to be considered.
To read the full article, go to Legal Executive Institute.