E-Discovery and Compliance Risks Posed by the iPad

Manage your company-issued iPads to head off novel compliance headaches

iPads are the hottest tablet technology in corporate America today. They're light, sleek, and portable, and thanks to a rich and steady stream of business and entertainment apps introduced daily, people can use them for a burgeoning selection of personal and professional tasks. Now in their second iteration, iPads have proven valuable for many business functions. Salespeople have greater flexibility and access to digital product information in the field, medical professionals have bedside access to patient records, and mobile business executives can give stunning presentations and enjoy instant access to corporate data -- and all right at their fingertips.

Like many new gadgets, iPads often first appear in businesses as employee-owned devices, prompting questions of if and how to allow for their connection to the corporate network. As the world of iPad apps matures, many companies have taken steps to issue the devices to their workforces, sometimes as replacements for laptops. But with technological innovation moving at warp speed, corporations need to frequently update their policies on data management and compliance to keep up with new developments -- and the advent of the iPad is a case in point. The time has come for in-house counsel to take note of potential information management, e-discovery, and privacy risks presented by these devices.

Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is written broadly enough to cover new devices, such as iPads, that create, transmit, and preserve electronically stored information. As companies deploy more and different devices, dispersing their sources of ESI, the risk that preservation and collection efforts will fail to prevent spoliation and other e-discovery perils increases. While there are currently no published court opinions addressing discovery obligations as to iPad content, courts have extended the duty to preserve and produce to content on PDAs (personal digital assistants) such as BlackBerrys, particularly when such information is unique rather than replicated on the company's network. Counsel should assume that litigation hold obligations will extend to iPad content in their employees' possession or control.

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Source: law.com
By: John Martin