New Sedona Conference Commentary Addresses Discovery Challenges of Collaboration Platforms

The Sedona Conference released a public comment version of their new “Commentary on Discovery of Collaboration-Platforms Data” in April 2025, providing much-needed guidance on handling the unique electronic discovery challenges posed by platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Google Workspace. Douglas Forrest, Senior Vice President of eDiscovery Analytics and Strategy at ILS, is a member of the drafting team.

The commentary, developed by Working Group 1 on Electronic Document Retention and Production, addresses how the explosive growth of these platforms has created significant legal and technical challenges for organizations, lawyers, and the judiciary when collaboration platform data becomes subject to discovery in litigation or investigations.

Key Issues Addressed

The commentary identifies several unique characteristics of collaboration platforms that complicate traditional discovery processes:

1. Custodial vs. Non-custodial Data: Unlike email, where content is typically associated with specific custodians, collaboration platforms often involve shared workspaces where the traditional notion of a custodian may not apply.
2. Preservation Challenges: Identifying relevant workspaces for preservation can be difficult as platforms may have private channels only visible to certain members, and data may be stored across multiple applications.
3. Hyperlinks vs. Attachments: Documents are typically shared via hyperlinks instead of traditional attachments, creating difficulties associating specific versions of hyperlinked documents with the referenced communication.
4. Collection Complexities: Organizations face challenges locating relevant communications and documents, which may be stored in different locations within or outside the platform’s environment.
5. Unique Production Challenges: Stakeholders must determine how to handle the format, unitization, and metadata of chat messages and collaborative documents.
6. Evidentiary Considerations: Authentication and hearsay issues arise when multiple users collaborate on documents simultaneously.

 Information Governance Recommendations

The commentary emphasizes the importance of proactive information governance, recommending that organizations:

• Understand collaboration tools before deployment
• Establish clear records retention policies
• Determine preservation capabilities for legal holds
• Create strategies for collecting and extracting content
• Consider licensing levels, which may affect discovery capabilities
• Address privacy and privilege considerations

GenAI Considerations

The commentary also notes the increasing integration of generative AI into collaboration platforms, which may create additional relevant data requiring preservation and collection. Organizations must understand if platforms and related tools have GenAI functionalities and where such data is stored.

Public Comment Period

This draft commentary is available to download from The Sedona Conference website and is open for public comment through May 16, 2025. Suggestions for improvements can be submitted to comments@sedonaconference.org.

The comprehensive guidance arrives at a critical time as organizations increasingly rely on collaboration platforms for daily business operations, creating new challenges for electronic discovery professionals and legal teams navigating the complexities of modern data sources.