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Online Activity Used in Divorce Court

by Joshua Fruhlinger on September 18, 2007 at 05:10 PM

Online Acticity Used in Divorce Court
If you do a lot of communicating online, perhaps with a secret lover, it may be time to take that conversation elsewhere. Likewise, if you suspect your spouse or significant other is cheating on you, it's probably a good idea to take a look at what he or she is doing online.

It turns out that as much as 75 percent of all divorce cases include some sort of electronic evidence: e-mail messages, instant message logs, even cell phone text messages. Increasingly, estranged lovers are looking to their partners' online activities to prove adultery, and courts are allowing the evidence in many cases.

A recent article from the New York Times told the tale of a man, suspecting his wife was cheating on him, who installed a program called "Pandora" on her machine. He was e-mailed screenshots of her computer every few minutes, screenshots that enlightened him of her adulterous activities. The program also captured her secret e-mail account passwords in which he found threads of tawdry conversations with the lover, who turned out to be a mutual friend from their children's private school.

Some argue that such spousal spying is an invasion of privacy. In fact, the husband in the story told by the New York Times was conflicted over his decision to spy on her. "If I were to tell you I have a pure ethical conscience over what I did, I'd be lying," he told The Times.

Either way, it turns out he could use the evidence in court since they shared the computer, a community property. Not all evidence found this way is admissible in court -- so if you plan on doing some e-espionage, consult a lawyer, first. Just don't do it via e-mail.

From The New York Times

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Tags: breaking+news, relationships, security, top

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