Getting the Message: What to Do (and Worry About) With Ephemeral Messaging Apps and Personal Devices

Reprinted from: TRACE International’s Bribery Matters | April 15, 2024

Cadwalader partner Jeffrey Clark has authored a blog post, “Getting the Message: What to Do (and Worry About) With Ephemeral Messaging Apps and Personal Devices,” which appeared in the most recent edition of TRACE International’s new blog, Bribery Matters.

As Jeffrey writes, for companies and their counsel who conduct internal investigations or respond to government requests for documents, dealing with employee communications on non-company platforms, such as personal email and messaging applications like WhatsApp or WeChat, is a persistent challenge.  Communications on these platforms can be a blind spot for investigators, as they may be ephemeral, encrypted, or accessible only on an employee’s device. With increasing pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies, companies must not only demonstrate they have a policy governing employees’ use of personal devices, but also show they have communicated it clearly and are enforcing it consistently.

Read it here.