Justia Internet Law Opinion Summaries

In 2016, an anonymous user uploaded child pornography images to Chatstep, an internet chatroom service. Chatstep identified and reported the uploads to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) using Microsoft’s PhotoDNA. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) in New Mexico traced the IP address to Guy Rosenschein and obtained a warrant to search his home, uncovering approximately 21,000 images and videos of child pornography. Rosenschein was indicted on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico denied Rosenschein’s pre-trial motions to suppress evidence, dismiss the case, or compel discovery of the computer programs used by Microsoft and NCMEC. Rosenschein pleaded guilty to one count of possession and seven counts of distribution of child pornography, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s denial of all three motions. The court held that Chatstep and Microsoft were not acting as governmental agents, so the Fourth Amendment did not apply to their conduct. Even if they were considered governmental agents, Rosenschein had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the images he uploaded to a public chatroom. The court also found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of Rosenschein’s motion to compel discovery of NCMEC’s reporting system, since he had the opportunity to access the information through witness examination. Lastly, the court upheld the district court’s refusal to require expert reports for the government’s witnesses before the suppression hearing, since Rule 16(a)(1)(G) does not apply to suppression hearings. View "U.S. v. Rosenschein" on Justia Law