Privacy rights are triggered under the Fourth Amendment:
A) when a corporation has authorized an agent with direct authority to perform an electronic search of an employee's e-mail account.
B) upon issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to bring electronic data (e-mails, files, etc.) including electronic metadata such as headers, directional information, and other such useful tracking data.
C) when the government is conducting a search.
D) during an archival search of e-mails on a corporation's server.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Fourth Amendment specifically protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Therefore, privacy rights are triggered under the Fourth Amendment only when the government is conducting a search. This means that private corporations or individuals do not necessarily have to abide by the Fourth Amendment when searching electronic data, unless they are acting as agents of the government.

Choice A is incorrect because a corporation's electronic search of an employee's e-mail account may violate the employee's contractual rights or company policies, but it does not implicate the Fourth Amendment.

Choice B is incorrect because a subpoena duces tecum can be issued by a variety of parties, not just the government, and the Fourth Amendment only applies to government searches.

Choice D is incorrect because, again, a private corporation's archival search of e-mails on its own server does not necessarily implicate the Fourth Amendment.

Privacy Rights Are Triggered Under the Fourth Amendment