Facebook is being cited as a source of evidence in almost a third of all divorce cases, new research carried out by Lake Legal, a law firm in UK, claims.
Employees at the law firm said they examined over 200 cases and found that Facebook had actually been used for evidence in over 33 percent of them.
It has been revealed that Facebook unwittingly provides evidence of infidelity and new relationships and also helps track people’s movements and record expenditure made. Of all the examined cases, a large number of them revolved around social media users who got back in touch with old flames they hadn’t heard from in years.
Managing partner at the firm Lyn Ayrton said: “Social media provides an ongoing log of our lives. The sharing of written posts and pictures, often with geo-tagging, provides a record of activities that can be used in a court case.
“Often, if a partner refers to an impending bonus, a new job offer, or plans for a holiday, it may provide evidence that they are not telling the truth about their financial position.
“At the very least, it could call their credibility into question.
“It’s like having a massive public noticeboard.
“Somebody said she was not in a relationship with anybody new but then posted a message inviting everybody to a housewarming party for her and her boyfriend.” Ayrton added.
Julian Hawkhead, managing partner at Stowe Family Law in London, said “Photographs and comments made on [Facebook] can be used as evidence of relationships or of a lifestyle which contradicts what people will otherwise try to portray.
“We regularly find clients coming to us with information they have found which is available in the public domain with proof of a relationship.
“However, the internet can also provide a useful source of other information. Our in-house forensic accountancy team will often find rich pickings in gathering financial information through a Google search about a party, their location, where they have been and what they are doing with their lives.”
