What is Fourth Amendment?
The US Constitutional amendment protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, which forms the legal basis for many digital privacy rights.
The Fourth Amendment is the primary constitutional basis for digital privacy in the United States.
The Text
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."
Key Digital Privacy Cases
- Carpenter v. United States (2018): Police need a warrant to access cell phone location data
- Riley v. California (2014): Police need a warrant to search a cell phone
- United States v. Jones (2012): GPS tracking constitutes a search
Third-Party Doctrine
The Supreme Court has historically held that data shared with third parties (banks, phone companies) has reduced Fourth Amendment protection. Carpenter v. United States began eroding this doctrine for digital data.
Limitations
- Only applies to government action, not private companies
- The border search exception allows warrantless device searches at borders
- Foreign intelligence surveillance has its own (weaker) legal framework
Related Terms
Subpoena
A legal order requiring a person or company to provide testimony, documents, or other evidence in legal proceedings. Service providers may receive subpoenas demanding user data, which is why privacy-focused services minimize data collection.
Warrant Canary
A method by which a service provider can inform users that they have NOT received a secret government subpoena. If the canary statement is removed or not updated, it signals that the provider may have received such an order and is legally prevented from disclosing it.
Have more questions?
Use our guided flow to get the right next privacy step for Fourth Amendment.
Open Guided Flow