What Is the Difference Between Data Retention and Data Preservation?

Is there a difference between data retention and data preservation? The terms retention and preservation are often treated as synonyms in day-to-day language but they aren’t the same thing.

There’s no doubt that a tool like Slack can improve communication and collaboration within a company—but it also introduces certain legal and compliance risks. Just ask luggage company Away.

We’ve mentioned before how important information governance is. However, with the sudden shift to remote work caused by COVID-19, having thorough systems and processes in place to manage information has proven more important than ever.

As with other social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, compliance and legal professionals often need to archive a Twitter account for official use.

As with other social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, organizations often need to archive their official Instagram accounts. In the public sector, this is usually to satisfy FOIA and Open Records recordkeeping requirements, while in the private sector, it is generally in preparation for a regulatory audit or legal matter. One recent example of a lawsuit related to a company’s use of Instagram is that of Teami, which was accused by the FTC of misrepresenting the health benefits of its tea.

I’m extremely proud to announce that Pagefreezer is now SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 compliant. We have always made use of compliant data centers to store information, but over the last year our organization itself has now gone through the rigorous SOC 2 auditing process to achieve compliance.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced many organizations—both large and small—to quickly change the way they operate. As formal lockdowns and social distancing guidelines were published by governments all over the globe, companies were left to figure out how they can get the job done with a remote workforce.

There are many reasons why organizations need to keep accurate records of online data like website content, official social media accounts, corporate chat tools, and mobile text messages. For instance, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state-level Open Records laws demand that public-sector organizations keep accurate records of this information in order to respond to Open Records requests.

With so many people active on social media these days, it’s hardly surprising that posts and comments on platforms like Facebook and Twitter often feature prominently during legal matters. This means that legal professionals have an obligation to protect relevant social media data from spoliation, but the challenges that come with these modern information sources extend far beyond willful destruction of evidence.

There are few better cases that illustrate the risks of social media spoliation than Lester v. Allied Concrete Company.