eDiscovery: The Scope of Search Broadens to Include Social Media

A decade ago companies struggled to get a handle on how to manage the data and content contained in their company emails.  Today the challenge hasn’t grown any smaller.  In fact, new regulations, the threat of more regulations coming soon, and the increased use of eDiscovery by the courts is increasing the urgency and demand for email archiving.  Email archiving products can free up storage space used by email servers, and they also typically have useful features for reporting, data classification and search.   Responding to a legal hold is dramatically simplified when an email archive is available to support the search effort.

But while email became a key repository for eDiscovery data mining, with the increased popularity of social media, the scope of eDiscovery is expanding again.  Regulations are beginning to be updated that include the mention of social media.  Data mined from public social media sites is now also beginning to be used by the courts.  For example, FINRA (The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) recently issued FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-06, which requires member firms to monitor and archive content business-related posting made using social media. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the National Futures Association (NFA) are also reviewing and updating their rules and regulations to include social media content.

Michael Osterman, principal of Osterman Research said that “social networking tools are extraordinarily useful and can generate new marketing, revenue and other opportunities.  However, social networking is a two-edged sword – as useful as these tools are, they can create enormous risks for any organization. The ability to monitor and manage social networking communications allows organizations to realize the benefits of these tools while at the same time minimizing the risk from their inappropriate use.”

Vendors are anticipating a rush by companies to want to monitor content generated by their employees on social media sites for compliance and eDiscovery reasons.  Here are just a few of the products that are appearing on the market now:

– Sonian.  This company makes a tool that lets you archive content that has appeared on Instant Messaging, Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn.
– Applied Discovery.  This product helps companies evaluate their level of compliance risk they are exposed to in their use of social media.
– FaceTime Communications.  This product adds compliance and feature controls for FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
– Autonomy.  Offers connectors to many social media and has features for reporting and monitoring of that data.

You should expect to see a lot more activity in this area as more compliance regulations specifically target social media and as the popularity and reach of social media grows.