09/01/2025
In the lawsuit No. 1019750-94.2024.8.26.0562 filed by a drugstore against a business management system supplier, the judge Raul Márcio Siqueira Júnior, of the 1st Civil Court of Santos/SP, rejected prints and audios extracted from WhatsApp and presented as evidence by the drugstore to support its claims of financial and operational losses due to malfunctions in the supplier’s system.
In a defense, the supplier contested the authenticity of the digital evidence and argued that the digital elements had not been subjected to technical expertise or certification by a notary, which was acknowledged by the judge.
The magistrate emphasized that, according to art. 369 of the CPC, digital evidence is admissible as long as it is lawful, suitable and able to prove the alleged facts, and that “Digital evidence, especially screenshots and audio extracted from applications, requires clear proof of its integrity and authenticity, given the facility for tampering and manipulation.”
Given that the digital elements are highly susceptible to manipulation, it is necessary to observe strict technical criteria, such as preserving the chain of custody and proving authenticity, such as an expert report or notarial certificate.
The judge also emphasized that in the case in dispute, the digital evidence attached was not accompanied by properly certified elements that would enable their integrity and origin to be verified, compromising their reliability, which is why they were considered inadequate as evidence and were removed from the case file.
Authored by: Isadora Lima V. B. Arruda
