New rules go into effect December 1 requiring organizations that are parties to federal legal cases to be able to provide “electronically stored information” as evidence in those matters. Many courts have begun requiring such evidence, and the new rules clarify that federal courts will also insist on similar procedures. Some observers noted that as a result, routine purges of old electronic records, including those for e-mail, could be seen as tampering with evidence in the event that a lawsuit has been filed and the records at issue might pertain to the case. Organizations will need to be cautious, therefore, in how and when they delete electronic data, possibly resulting in considerable increases in costs of running computer systems.Wall Street Journal, 1 December 2006 (sub. req’d)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116499202029638214.html
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