Arizona Supreme Court: Metadata a Public Record
Phoenix police officer alleged that notes kept by his supervisor had been backdated.
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled -- in the case of David Lake vs. City of Phoenix -- that metadata is a public record and subject to disclosure under public records law. Phoenix police officer David Lake filed a complaint and federal lawsuit alleging employment discrimination and alleged that notes kept by his supervisor had been backdated and requested metadata of the file to ascertain the true creation date, access dates and who accessed the file, according to court records. The city denied the request, contending that metadata is not a public record. Judge Norris found that:"[w]hen . . . [an] electronically created document is a public record, then so too is its metadata."
