Social Media & the Law by Brittany Cowan: Statutes

Florida amended its rules on civil procedure in 2012, six years after the federal rules were amended to include electronically stored information (ESI). Although Florida has included ESI guidelines pertaining to the discoverability of ESI, the Florida Evidence Code is still silent as to the admissibility of ESI evidence.

This section was also amended in 2012 to include ESI. Parties will not be sanctioned for the loss of ESI due to good faith operation.

Amended in 2012 to allow ESI content to be discoverable.

Respondent may object to discovery of ESI because they are not reasonably accessible (i.e. undue costs or burden)
Can be ordered for good cause
Costs can be shifted
Respondent must produce in ordinary or reasonably usable form
FRCP 45 has sanction for subpoenas which are burdensome

This privacy bill limits a company's ability to request that employees or job applicants provide access to personal social media accounts. This bill was introduced into the Florida Senate in September of 2013 and cleared two committees before dying in the third.

This privacy bill limits a company's ability to request that employees or job applicants provide access to personal social media accounts. This bill was introduced in January of 2014 and died when the session ended in May.

This Florida data breach notification law fundamentally changes the playing field in terms of what information is protected and who the law applies to. It also does not differentiate between large and small breaches, stating that any covered entity or third party agent must now report breaches to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and to consumers within 30 days.

Discovery does not explicitly require parties to produce social media content, but it does require that a party disclose "a description by category and location of all documents, electronically stored information . . . in its possession, custody or control" that it may use to support its claims or defenses.

Parties have a duty to preserve relevant sources of electronically stored data. This duty extends to all documents within a parties possession, custody, or control.

Popular Name: Stored Communications Act (SCA)
The SCA deals with voluntary and compelled disclosure of "stored wire and electronic communications and transactional records" held by third-party internet service providers (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc).