Interesting Piece on Presidential Blackberry Devices...

Not sure I agree with all of this, but it is well worth a read....

The problem of how to classify electronic messages has broader ramifications. Private firms sued in civil actions must produce relevant documents--including records of emails and text messages--while they do not have to produce transcripts of face-to-face and telephone conversations, for the simple reason that the latter leave no record. But at least in the civil litigation context, the law in principle treats these categories the same. Absent a valid privilege, if asked about a relevant conversation that produced no permanent record, a party or party's agent must divulge the substance of that conversation, at least to the best of his ability to remember. Of course, this regime makes it easier for a bad actor to cover up purely oral conversations than to cover up email and other written communications, but for a law-abiding firm, there is no ex ante distortion of incentives for using various modes of communicating.

This much is certain: the law surrounding electronic communication is likely not going to stay the same...