Admissibility of Social Media Postings in Lawsuits
Social media is everywhere, but can it be brought into the court room? If you have filed a lawsuit for personal injuries, can you bring the social media history of a party into the court room? Or could they bring in your social media history? The answer to that depends. Social media posts, like other evidence, has to be relevant, authenticated and the prejudicial impact cannot outweigh its probative value. For instance, a social media post that has no bearing on the case, but makes the other person look bad cannot be brought in solely to make the person appear to be an irresponsible person. The standard rule to keep in mind is that the foundational requirements for the admission of evidence has to followed and, assuming that is met, a Court will weigh the factors in determining whether or not to allow social media posts into evidence. This applies to all parties in the case, so be careful what you post on social media if you are a party to a lawsuit.