This piece on the JDSupra blog makes for an insightful read. The challenges companies face when undertaking an eDiscovery when relevant data is held within channel-based platforms such as Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts are well documented, and it is something I have talked about before.
And with more and more people working from home due to the ongoing pandemic, and thus using applications such as these, these challenges are only going to come up more in both disputes and investigations. As a result, it is essential that companies consider, in advance, how they will manage them properly. Ultimately, regardless of the platform being used, it is best for companies to be proactive and be prepared. As the piece states, the court agreed that with current technology, “requiring review and production of Slack messages … is generally comparable to requiring search and production of emails.”
If you would like to know more on how to deal with these types of technologies, please reach out to me.
If your organization uses Slack or another collaboration platform for internal business communications, it’s time to start treating that data like you would email. Take your standard ediscovery workflow and review it to ensure that you include Slack and other collaboration data sources. Make certain that you have means to defensibly preserve, search, cull and produce Slack messages based on critical criteria such as relevant custodians, dates, channels, and keyword search, at the least.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/case-law-summary-court-holds-that-4631782/
