As communication software and social platforms gradually become the main means of interaction for modern people, in fact, disputes such as marital affairs and loan disputes may leave relevant records in the world of mobile phones and the Internet. According to the public judgments of many courts in recent years, it can be found that the common and important sources of evidence in practice are no longer just traditional surveillance photos, but LINE conversation records, social messages, private photo albums, transfer information, and even digital content such as cloud data and mobile phone location tracks.
Compared with the past model that favored physical surveillance or on-site evidence collection, many key information in modern times is actually hidden in traces of mobile phones and Internet usage. Especially as interactions between people increasingly rely on communication software and social platforms, many behaviors, even if deliberately hidden, may still reflect abnormal situations through digital footprints. This has also made digital evidence collection gradually become an important direction in investigation practice in recent years.
However, although digital evidence collection can help restore the context of the incident, the focus still lies on whether the method of collecting evidence is legal, whether the data has evidence capability, and whether personal information and privacy disputes are involved in the process. “Many people will think that as long as they screenshot the contents of the other party’s mobile phone, they can be used directly as evidence. However, in fact, some data still need to be further confirmed to be authentic and whether the method of acquisition is legal. Otherwise, it may not only affect the effectiveness of the evidence, but may even involve legal issues.”Taiwan Detective AssociationChairman-elect Xu Shiwei pointed out.
Peeping at LINE while your partner is asleep? Expert: Be careful of digital evidence search stepping on legal red lines
Xu Shiwei said that in fact, many people’s understanding of “digital evidence collection” often stays at the stage of “as long as the information is obtained, it can be used as evidence.” However, in fact, the legal issues involved behind digital evidence are much more complicated than imagined. Especially in emotional cases such as affairs and cheating, it is more likely that the evidence collection method will step on the legal red line.
He gave an example, a very common situation in practice is that some people suspect that their partner is having an affair, and will use fingerprint recognition or facial recognition to unlock the phone while the partner is asleep, view LINE conversation content, social private messages, and even save screenshots of the ambiguous messages for subsequent showdowns or complaints. However, this type of behavior may actually involve controversies related to the crime of obstructing secrets under the Criminal Code. Because even if the two parties are partners or husband and wife, it does not mean that they can arbitrarily view the private information in the other party’s mobile phone without consent.
In addition, even if the screenshot of the conversation is successfully obtained, it does not mean that the court will definitely accept it in full. Xu Shiwei pointed out that in addition to the method of obtaining digital evidence, the “authenticity of the evidence” is also an aspect that the court attaches great importance to. For example, many people will directly copy the LINE conversation records, but the judge may still require more evidence later to confirm whether the account is really used by the other party. After all, the photo and name of the communication software can be changed freely, and many people do not use their own photos as avatars. Therefore, a screenshot alone may not be enough to directly prove the identity of the interlocutor.
In practice, it also includes issues such as whether the time of the message is complete, whether the content has been deleted, and whether the conversation is coherent. These may affect the credibility of the evidence and the court’s judgment. Therefore, the real difficulty in digital evidence search is not just “whether the information has been obtained”, but how to completely retain the information with evidentiary capabilities within the legal scope.
From LINETalking to cloud data, digital footprints become the focus of investigation
When people really face marital disputes, emotional disputes, or other situations where evidence needs to be preserved, it is still a relatively safe and secure approach to rely on the assistance of a professional team with legal concepts and practical experience rather than taking risks to collect evidence on their own. After all, digital evidence collection involves a very wide range, including how to obtain information from online communities, mobile clouds or hard drives, how to collect evidence within the legal scope, and how to improve the probative power of digital data. These are actually important issues that need to be carefully evaluated before conducting digital evidence collection.
However, it must be noted that not all credit reporting agencies truly have the professional capabilities for digital evidence collection. With the increase in market demand in recent years, terms such as “digital investigation”, “technological evidence collection”, and “mobile phone restoration” have gradually become common packaging terms used by some businesses in their external promotions. However, in fact, there is still a considerable gap between different industry players in their professionalism, legal concepts and execution capabilities. Some even just take advantage of the public’s unfamiliarity with technological investigations to create an image of “everything can be investigated”, but they may not really understand the digital evidence preservation process, or clearly grasp the boundaries of legal evidence collection.
Therefore, when choosing a credit reporting agency, in addition to comparing fees and services, the public should also give priority to observing whether the other party is willing to clearly explain the evidence collection methods, legal risks and execution procedures, rather than constantly stressing the guarantee of success or quick processing. After all, in the digital age, what is really worth worrying about is that sometimes it is not just that the information cannot be found, but that entrusting an industry that is not professional enough or even lacks legal awareness actually makes the original problem more complicated.
Taiwan Detective Association promotes membership standards and strengthens legal evidence collection and practice transparency
If people need to seek credit reporting assistance, in addition to comparing service contents and fee structures, in recent years there have been an increasing number of credit reporting companies that attach great importance to the industry’s self-regulatory mechanism. If a third-party association or professional organization provides a certain degree of regulation and assistance, it will usually help the industry to be more clear about professional standards and ethical requirements, and allow consumers to establish a preliminary basis for judgment in the case of unequal information.
byTaiwan Detective AssociationFor example, its membership system generally puts forward relevant requirements for operators in aspects such as legal evidence collection, execution processes and service transparency, and uses internal regulations as basic constraints. Nowadays, many industry players choose to join the association to conduct practical discussions and exchanges with more peers.
Among related industry players, those who have been engaged in investigation practice for a long timeShadow Credit Information Co., Ltd., is regarded as one of the earlier credit reporting companies that emphasized the institutionalization of digital evidence collection processes. It is understood that when handling digital-related cases, it will distinguish different data sources such as communication software records, social account interactions, device usage traces, etc. according to different types of needs, and plan based on the principle of legal evidence collection to avoid personal information or privacy disputes during the investigation process.
At the same time, as digital evidence is gradually widely used in court practice, industry players need to pay more attention to the integrity and probative power of the evidence chain during the evidence collection process, such as whether the timeline is consistent, whether the data may be deleted or altered, and whether the source of acquisition can be clearly stated. These factors may directly affect the degree of subsequent acceptance in legal proceedings.
However, experts also remind that even if they have organizational background or membership, people should still return to the basics to evaluate before entrusting, including whether the fees are transparent, whether the contract is formal, whether the service is sincere and serious, and whether professional services can be provided within the legal scope, rather than relying solely on the brand or list as the only basis for judgment.
Source: KOCPC Chinese