Archiving WhatsApp messages for trial and legal matters
Legal actions filed by or against companies are a common sight in the business landscape. It’s a painstaking, costly process which could potentially destroy the reputation of the business, especially if it does not have any reliable evidence to counter the claims. According to courtstatistics.org, median costs for a business lawsuit start at $54,000 for a liability suit and can reach around $91,000 for the median contract dispute.
In legal cases where electronic communication service such as WhatsApp messages are vital to one party’s claim, the burden of proof lies on the organization who wishes to employ an electronic record as an evidence. It is for these cases why it is imperative for your company to invest in an enterprise messaging solution that can capture and record WhatsApp messages pertinent in your business.
WhatsApp Evidence and Its Admissibility
Many states in the U.S. rule that the evidentiary value of an electronic record like WhatsApp messages depends upon its quality.
In both state and federal courts across the country, electronic record such as WhatsApp messages and SMS messages are generally treated as an individual record requiring separate foundation and grounds for admission into evidence.
For example, under the Massachusetts Rules of Evidence, electronic messages can be used as evidence in the court, however the law also requires that the prosecution authenticates the message of written text before it is allowed for evidence.
In many states, electronic messages can be authenticated under the law through:
- Direct testimony who saw the messages created or executed.
- Distinct characteristics of the message itself.
- Circumstantial proof of authenticity.
Regarding the distinct characteristics of the message, it is critical for the WhatsApp messages to provide documentation for:
- The date and time of the messages.
- The real contact information for the other party or parties in the text message conversation. For SMS this is a phone number. For WhatsApp, this is either a phone number or an email address.
Establishing Authenticity Through Enterprise Archiving
With today’s technology, one can easily alter the name of sender/recipient, time stamp, and the content of the message so the other party can easily claim that you altered the WhatsApp messages and printed it off.This means that screenshots or printouts of WhatsApp messages is not enough as a court evidence as the opposing party can simply challenge their authenticity.
In order to ensure that relevant WhatsApp messages are admissible in the court, it is critically important to archive WhatsApp messages, including all the files, email of the employees, and other message metadata. By doing so, you will be able to present the best evidence, and also provide all relevant chain of WhatsApp messages that may further solidify your case in the court.
TeleMessage’s WhatsApp Archiver is a unique platform tailor-made to solve compliance and regulation issues by allowing firms to capture and archive WhatsApp messages. This platform works exactly like the standard WhatsApp application, ensuring that your employees will still be able to send work-related communications easily and quickly.
The benefits of using WhatsApp Archiver in your business include:
- Archive all WhatsApp communications
- Use WhatsApp to communicate with customers, employees, and stakeholders
- Search, track and retrieve WhatsApp messages in the corporate archive
- Deposit WhatsApp messages with any email archiving vendor
- Full administration and reporting
The TeleMessage WhatsApp Archiver is the latest addition to ourmobile archiving products that securely capture content from mobile carriers and mobile devices for a variety of ownership models (BYOD, CYOD, and employer-issued). With our multiple archiving methods, you can always find the right tools or blend for your requirements:
TeleMessage offers cross-carrier and international mobile text & calls archiving for corporate and BYOD phones. Visit our website today at www.telemessage.com today to try our mobile archiving products.
SOURCE: https://www.telemessage.com/archiving-whatsapp-messages-for-trial-and-legal-matters/
