Why Emojis Matter in E-Discovery

One estimate is that more than six billion emojis are sent every day, just on mobile devices. Emojis have become a common way for people to communicate online, and their use needs to be addressed in e-discovery. writes Joe Sremack from the Berkeley Research Group. In fact, he points out, it already has in numerous cases, the most high-profile of which was the criminal case brought against the alleged principal of  Silk Road, the online black market site. By and large, however, e-discovery practitioners have been late to this game. In fact it takes a fairly sophisticated technology to address it, one reason being the meaning of an emoji can evolve rapidly, in some cases becoming ironic or even turning into its opposite. But of course that happens with words, as well, and it’s can be a challenge. “Emojis can be just as vital as words in a review process and they can serve as powerful evidence when presented to a jury,” says the author.