On December 12, 2019, Eric Eckes argued an important 4th Amendment case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will have significant effects on the privacy interests of all citizens in the digital age.
At issue is the government’s ability to search emails and email attachments without a warrant. On the opposing side was not just the United States’ government, but amici Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, Twitter, and more. Eric argued that our personal data (contained in emails) is the modern-day equivalent of a person’s papers and effects, and users of email services retain a property interest in their data despite the fact Google has methods of monitoring the emails of its users.
Audio of the argument can be heard below:
