Skip to main content

Court rules Fourth Amendment protects email

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that email users have the same expectations of privacy as telephone and postal mail users, and that therefore the government needs to obtain a search warrant before it can secretly search or seize email messages—even if they’re stored at service providers.

“The police may not storm the post office and intercept a letter, and they are likewise forbidden from using the phone system to make a clandestine recording of a telephone call—unless they get a warrant, that is,” the court wrote in its opinion (PDF). “It only stands to reason that, if government agents compel an ISP to surrender the contents of a subscriber’s emails, those agents have thereby conducted a Fourth Amendment search, which necessitates compliance with the warrant requirement.”

The decision comes in the appeal of a case against Steven Warshak, who operated a company best known for selling a “make enhancement” product. Warshak argued that the government had overstepped its authority by secretly seizing his email from his service provider without warrants and without informing Warshak. The government’s authority to seize email messages from third parties without warrant or informing the target of an investigation stems from the 1986 Stored Communications Act; in practice, the act has enabled police and other authorities to access email messages stored in users’ accounts without notification or a warrant if they are more than 180 days old. To access these older messages, the government need only supply a 2703(d) order—commonly called an “administrative subpoena”—which do not have a requirement that the government show probable cause.

The case marks the first time a federal court has ruled against the Stored Communications Act, which so far has been unchallenged by ISPs and service providers, possibly because they don’t want to pick a fight with the federal government unless absolutely necessary. However, the ruling may not mean much for Warshak’s appeal—he has already been convicted of fraud and other offenses—because the police acted in good faith with existing law. Warshak’s case will be referred back to a lower court for a new sentence; he’s also still on the hook for $44 million as part of a money laundering judgement.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Best color laser printers for 2024: tested and reviewed
A Brother printer on a counter in front of a brick wall.

The best color laser printers can be a great investment, saving you quite a bit of time and money. For shoppers worried about the long-term ink costs, you'll find color laser printers surprisingly affordable. Laser printers use toner, which lasts a very long time, delivering a low cost per page for monochrome documents and fast color prints. The best color laser printers offer quick performance and reliability to help keep your home office or small business productive.

If you need to scan documents for record-keeping and photo capture or want the convenience of a color copier, an all-in-one color laser printer is an essential tool for your small business or personal use. For a small added cost, you get expanded capabilities. That's why every model on this list is an all-in-one from the best printer brands.

Read more
The 5 best Wi-Fi adapters for PC in 2024
The Ugreen AC1300 Wi-Fi adapter in a desktop PC.

Whether you're designing it yourself or getting a pre-built PC, it can be easy to get a computer and realize that it doesn't have a native Wi-Fi adapter. Or, maybe it does, but you're internet speeds are getting faster, game downloads are getting bigger, you've already upgraded your router and need an adapter to match your newfound power requirements. No matter the situation, an external Wi-Fi adapter that you can add to your PC setup or even laptop setup will be worth your time. Here, we investigate the best Wi-Fi adapters for PC use. Most are incredibly affordable and just snap into a free USB port and start working.
The best Wi-Fi adapter for PC in 2024

Buy the

Read more
How to pin a website to the taskbar in Windows
A man sits, using a laptop running the Windows 11 operating system.

Windows includes many interesting tools, but if you’re like many people, more and more of your digital life is happening in your web browser and nowhere else. That being the case, you’ll want to keep your most important websites close at hand. The easiest way to access them in Windows is the Start menu and the taskbar, treating them more or less like programs in and of themselves.

Although easy overall, getting a website from your browser to your taskbar is slightly different depending on which browser you’re using.

Read more