How Metadata Can Affect a Case

Metadata, simply defined, is data about data, and what it reveals can have a telling effect in litigation, explains Tom Turner, president and co-founder of DSi. Metadata can, for example, provide information about when a file was created, altered, or even moved from folder to folder. In litigation, metadata is typically used to make a case for spoliation or to discredit or support other evidence, but there are circumstances in which metadata itself can become the smoking gun.