Legal Discovery

When litigation requires complete decision history, Vettly provides the infrastructure to respond to subpoenas, support litigation holds, and generate court-ready evidence packages.

Why This Matters

Content moderation decisions increasingly become the subject of litigation:

• Users suing for wrongful account suspension
• Platforms defending against negligence claims
• Regulatory investigations into moderation practices
• Employment disputes involving workplace communication platforms

Without proper infrastructure, responding to discovery requests becomes:

• Expensive - Manual reconstruction of decision history
• Incomplete - Missing policy versions, context, or timestamps
• Risky - Inability to prove what was decided and why

Litigation Hold

Setting a Hold

When litigation is anticipated or filed:

const hold = await vettly.createLegalHold({
  name: 'Smith v. Platform Inc. - Case #2024-CV-12345',
  counsel: '[email protected]',

  scope: {
    // Specific user(s) involved
    userIds: ['user_123', 'user_456'],

    // Date range of relevant content
    dateRange: {
      from: '2023-06-01',
      to: '2024-03-31'
    },

    // All actions or specific ones
    actions: ['flag', 'block'],

    // All categories or specific ones
    categories: ['harassment', 'hate_speech']
  },

  // When the hold expires (can be 'indefinite')
  expiry: '2027-12-31',

  // Reason for the hold
  reason: 'Litigation hold per outside counsel directive dated 2024-04-01',

  // Override normal retention policies
  overrideRetention: true
})

// hold.id = "lh_abc123"

Managing Holds

// List active holds
const holds = await vettly.listLegalHolds({
  status: 'active'
})

// Extend a hold
await vettly.extendLegalHold({
  holdId: 'lh_abc123',
  newExpiry: '2028-12-31',
  reason: 'Case extended, updated per counsel directive'
})

// Release a hold
await vettly.releaseLegalHold({
  holdId: 'lh_abc123',
  reason: 'Case settled, hold released per counsel directive',
  authorizedBy: '[email protected]'
})

Discovery Requests

Responding to Subpoenas

When you receive a subpoena for moderation records:

// Generate discovery response
const response = await vettly.generateDiscoveryResponse({
  requestId: 'Subpoena-2024-04-15',
  scope: {
    userIds: ['user_123'],
    dateRange: {
      from: '2023-01-01',
      to: '2024-03-31'
    }
  },
  format: 'pdf',
  include: [
    'decisions',
    'policies',
    'appeals',
    'context',
    'providerResponses'
  ],
  certification: {
    certifyAccuracy: true,
    certifyCompleteness: true,
    certifier: '[email protected]'
  }
})

Interrogatory Support

For answering interrogatories about moderation practices:

// Get policy history with all versions
const policyHistory = await vettly.getPolicyHistory('community-safe', {
  includeFullText: true,
  includeChangelog: true
})

// Get decision statistics for time period
const stats = await vettly.getDecisionStats({
  from: '2023-01-01',
  to: '2024-03-31',
  breakdown: ['month', 'category', 'action']
})

// Get methodology documentation
const methodology = await vettly.getMethodologyDocumentation({
  period: '2023-01-01 to 2024-03-31',
  includeProviderDetails: true,
  includeTrainingData: false // Usually work product protected
})

Evidence Authentication

Chain of Custody

Document the complete history of each decision:

const chain = await vettly.getChainOfCustody('dec_abc123')

// Returns:
{
  decisionId: 'dec_abc123',
  events: [
    {
      event: 'content_received',
      timestamp: '2024-01-15T10:00:00Z',
      details: { source: 'api', endpoint: '/v1/check' }
    },
    {
      event: 'decision_made',
      timestamp: '2024-01-15T10:00:00.450Z',
      details: {
        policyVersion: 'v2.3.1',
        action: 'block',
        automated: true
      }
    },
    {
      event: 'content_preserved',
      timestamp: '2024-01-15T10:00:01Z',
      details: {
        location: 's3://evidence/dec_abc123',
        encrypted: true,
        hash: 'sha256:...'
      }
    },
    {
      event: 'user_notified',
      timestamp: '2024-01-15T10:00:02Z',
      details: { channel: 'email', template: 'content-blocked' }
    },
    {
      event: 'appeal_received',
      timestamp: '2024-01-20T14:30:00Z',
      details: { appealId: 'app_xyz789' }
    },
    // ... complete history
  ]
}

Content Verification

Prove content hasn't been altered:

const verification = await vettly.generateVerificationCertificate({
  decisionId: 'dec_abc123',
  format: 'pdf',
  include: [
    'contentHash',
    'hashAlgorithm',
    'preservationTimestamp',
    'storageLocation',
    'encryptionDetails'
  ]
})

Expert Witness Support

Methodology Documentation

Generate documentation for expert testimony:

const expertDoc = await vettly.generateExpertDocumentation({
  period: '2023-01-01 to 2024-03-31',
  include: [
    'systemArchitecture',
    'aiProviderDetails',
    'policyEnforcement',
    'humanReviewProcess',
    'qualityAssurance',
    'accuracyMetrics',
    'appealProcess'
  ]
})

Decision Reconstruction

Explain exactly how a decision was made:

const reconstruction = await vettly.reconstructDecision({
  decisionId: 'dec_abc123',
  verbosity: 'expert', // Detailed technical explanation
  include: [
    'inputProcessing',
    'policyEvaluation',
    'providerCalls',
    'thresholdApplication',
    'actionDetermination'
  ]
})

// Returns step-by-step breakdown of decision logic

Reports for Counsel

Litigation Summary

const summary = await vettly.generateLitigationSummary({
  case: 'Smith v. Platform Inc.',
  scope: {
    userIds: ['user_123'],
    dateRange: { from: '2023-01-01', to: '2024-03-31' }
  },
  include: [
    'decisionCount',
    'decisionBreakdown',
    'appealHistory',
    'policyVersions',
    'keyEvents'
  ],
  format: 'pdf'
})

Privileged Analysis

Generate analysis for attorney eyes only:

const analysis = await vettly.generatePrivilegedAnalysis({
  case: 'Smith v. Platform Inc.',
  scope: { /* ... */ },
  questions: [
    'Were policies consistently applied?',
    'Were any decisions anomalous?',
    'Were appeals handled properly?'
  ],
  markAsPrivileged: true, // Add privilege markings
  counsel: '[email protected]'
})

Audit Trail for Discovery

Every discovery-related action is logged:

const discoveryAudit = await vettly.getDiscoveryAudit({
  case: 'Smith v. Platform Inc.'
})

// Returns:
[
  { action: 'legal_hold_created', timestamp: '...', user: '...', scope: '...' },
  { action: 'discovery_response_generated', timestamp: '...', user: '...' },
  { action: 'evidence_exported', timestamp: '...', user: '...', records: 150 },
  { action: 'verification_certificate_generated', timestamp: '...', user: '...' }
]

Next Steps

• Evidence Preservation - Configure preservation settings
• Audit Trails - Understand what's tracked
• Decision Records - Anatomy of a decision