The Fragility of Chain of Custody in the Era of Digital Evidence

“Chain of custody” is a familiar concept for anyone working in law enforcement, legal practice, or investigations. It’s a foundational part of proving that evidence presented in court is authentic, unaltered, and admissible. From physical crime scene artifacts to corporate records, courts have always required a clear, documented trail showing where evidence came from, who handled it, and how it was preserved.

Recent reports show over one billion people were on Facebook on one day. One billion people! Most were there to catch up with friends, see some trending content, or just to waste some time. With a crowd that large, you know there are a fair bit of nefarious activities going on.

81% of lawyers using evidence from Social Networking platforms. A recent study from PEW found that 66% of divorce cases used Facebook content as a primary case of evidence - this is an alarmingly high figure for lawyers not well versed in managing social media content, but also unsurprising given the ways in which we use social media in our everyday lives. This is not just limited to divorce cases, as the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers report that 81% if lawyers find court-worthy evidence from social networking platforms - aiding cases all across the Family Law spectrum from divorce, custody, alimony and more.

Protecting Student Data on Social Media and the Web With advances in technology and online activity, both for recreational and educational purposes, concerns have been long growing for the safety and use of children and student’s data collected in the use of certain apps and websites. Not only is this concern regarding the collection and use of children’s data, but the onus on those liable for protecting, and maintaining a balancing act between the benefits of technology for educational purposes.

A study from 2023 in the Journal of Business Research, claimed that nearly 30% of all online reviews were fake. In 2024, TripAdvisor removed approximately 2.7 million fraudulent reviews from its platform. A study from Carnegie Mellon University found that 82% of retweets around the COVID-19 pandemic could be traced to bot accounts that were simulating grassroots activity.

Nucci v. Target Corp [2015]

These days, ignoring social media evidence in investigations and litigation is akin to leaving a crucial witness unquestioned. But as the case of Federico v. Lincoln Military Housing demonstrates, navigating this terrain can be a costly minefield.

United States v. Vayner 2014 2014 was a landmark year in establishing the admissibility and stance of screenshots and printouts of social media in litigation, with one of the more notable examples of this being the evaluation of a printout from the Russian equivalent of Facebook (VK.com) in United States v. Vayner.

The Insta-Scam (and Instaspam components) is a relatively new cyber scam operated on social media and targeting users on mediums such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.