Effects of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) on electronically stored information (ESI)

Effects of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) on electronically stored information (ESI)

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) are meant to govern the district courts in the United States (Wolfman, 2016). The United States Supreme courts are the ones that are responsible for the promulgation of FRCP. These rules affect different areas, and one of the regions affected concerns electronically stored information (ESI). The electronically stored information is the information that is created, stored, and utilized in digital form. A person should be able to access a computer or some other computerized devices to access the information. In the current century, there are many issues that have arisen concerning ESI. One of the main problems involves the security of the information.

Some people argue that electronically stored information can be accessed and manipulated by unauthorized people. This statement is true to some extent, but many organizations are doing their level best to ensure that the information is secure. There is the use of different mechanisms to ensure that there is the safety of the data. These security measures include both human and physical. A person should be authorized o access ESI. The use of passwords should protect the computers storing the information. The passwords should be strong to avoid unauthorized access.

FRCP is meant to regulate many processes concerning ESI, and one of them is the discovery process (Caplan, 2012). There is a need to regulate the processes concerning ESI to avoid unneccesary misunderstandings. In case of a case, ESI should be collected in advance, as stated by FCRP. By so doing, the people affected will be in a position to provide enough evidence for the case. The evidence should be accurate, and there should not be any exaggerations. ESI should be appropriately managed to avoid some costs which are associated with poor management.

Digital forensics is the collection and examination of digital evidence that is stored in electronic devices (Kah, 2014). Digital forensics mostly happens when an attack has occurred, or an organization is afraid of a threat. The digital capabilities of an organization can be affected by many rules, and one of them is FRCP. The effects of FRCP are positive since they encourage an organization to store ESI insecure devices. When a threat has occurred, an organization needs to ensure that its information is well protected. If some piece of information has been accessed, then the remaining information should be secured. The remaining data can be useful in identifying the cause of threat; hence it will be easy to deal with the threat.

In dealing with threats, there is a need to access adequate information (Ashley & Bridewell, 2010). According to rule 26, (b)(2) parties that are concerned with discovering ESI should be permitted under the condition that the access is costly. This rule will have effects when it comes to accessing sufficient information to be used when dealing with various threats. The rule makes access to data costly, and this will affect many organizations.

According to FRCP, the form of providing ESI should be readily usable form. If one party presents information in any other form, the other party has a right not to accept it. This rule may affect organizations in many ways. For instance, the denied information may be useful, and since the rule denied it, then it will not be helpful. So, the organization may find itself in difficult situations of dealing with threats. When dealing with cyber threats and other attacks, there is a need to conduct digital investigations. The investigations help in discovering potential risks that may affect the organization.

References

Ashley, K., & Bridewell, W. (2010). Emerging AI & Law approach to automating analysis and retrieval of electronically stored information in discovery proceedings. Artificial Intelligence And Law, 18(4), 311-320. doi: 10.1007/s10506-010-9098-4

Caplan, A. (2012). A Glossary for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2005284

Kah Leng, T. (2014). E-Discovery of electronically stored information in commercial litigation. Computer Law & Security Review, 30(2), 171-178. doi: 10.1016/j.clsr.2014.01.003

Wolfman, B. (2016). Testimony to the Federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee on Proposed Amendments to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2876607