Facebook Data Release to Cops Evades Fourth Amendment Limits

A Ninth Circuit ruling that allows tech companies to turn over an individual’s online account data to law enforcement for preservation without violating the Fourth Amendment raises privacy and constitutional questions over protecting that information.

Evidence uncovered by Yahoo Inc. and Facebook Inc. via account searches—and later used to convict a defendant of child exploitation—wasn’t collected at the behest of the government and didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote in an April 27 opinion.

The decision prompted debate among lawyers and academics about what impact the ruling will have on ...