Subscriber information provided to internet service provider is not protected by Fourth Amendment privacy expectation

SEARCH & SEIZURE United States v. Perrine, No. 06-3336, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. Mar. 11, 2008)(Kansas). Appeal of convictions for distributing child pornography, receiving child pornography, and possessing child pornography in violation 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). HELD: (1) Subscriber information (name, address, etc.,) provided to internet service providers is information voluntarily transmitted to third-parties. It is therefore not protected by Fourth Amendment’s privacy expectation. (2) Where defendant had peer-to-peer software installed on home computer permitting anyone on internet to access certain folders on computer and such access could expose subscriber information to outsiders, such action vitiated any expectation of privacy in computer and contents. Read the opinion here.