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U.S. court says warrant for access to
all content of email account is justified
Government was granted a warrant to obtain emails and other
information from a Gmail account
By John Ribeiro -
Computerworld
July 21, 2014 06:16 AM
ET
IDG
News Service - A New York judge defended a controversial
order that gave the government access to all content of the Gmail account of a
target in a money laundering investigation, holding that courts have long
recognized the practical need for law enforcement to seize documents if only to
determine whether they fall within the warrant.
The
opinion, which will likely fuel the privacy debate in the country, is at odds
with decisions by judges in several courts including courts in the Districts of
Columbia and Kansas, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein of the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York noted in an opinion
Friday.
The
District of Columbia judge had refused disclosure of the contents of an entire
email account because that would allow the government to actually seize large
quantities of emails "for which it has not established probable
cause."
The
court in Kansas criticized a similar warrant as it failed to "limit the
universe of electronic communications and information to be turned over to the
government to the specific crimes being investigated."
The
New York court, in contrast, granted on June 11 a warrant that permitted law
enforcement to obtain emails and other information from a Gmail account,
including the address book and draft mails, and to permit a search of the
emails for certain specific categories of evidence.
Courts
have recognized that on-site searches of hard-disk drives of computers and
other storage devices are not practical given the complexities of electronic
searches, and have as a result allowed for the seizure or copying of such
storage, Judge Gorenstein wrote. He held that the same applied to email
accounts.
"We
perceive no constitutionally significant difference between the searches of
hard drives just discussed and searches of email accounts," the judge
wrote. "Indeed, in many cases, the data in an email account will be less
expansive than the information that is typically contained on a hard
drive."
Responding
to the opinion by the District of Columbia court that gave the government the
option of getting the email host to search the emails, Judge Gorenstein wrote
that Google employees would not be able to arrive at the significance of
particular emails without having been trained in the substance of the
investigation.
"While
an agent steeped in the investigation could recognize the significance of
particular language in emails, an employee of the email host would be incapable
of doing so," he wrote.
The
court did not also place any limits on the manner or time frame in which the
emails should be searched or retained.
"For
example, in a drug investigation, it might be obvious based on information from
an informant or other source that emails referring to the purchase or
importation of 'dolls' refers to cocaine, but investigators might only learn as
the investigation unfolds that a seemingly innocuous email referring to
purchase of 'potatoes' also refers to a cocaine shipment," the judge
wrote.
Google
could not be immediately reached for comment on the opinion.
================================In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, "Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:
www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki
If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and Yahoo. I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ Rider University and PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.
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