Nonprofit Agency Acted as Government Agent in Opening Email, Court Rules

A national clearinghouse for missing and exploited children should have gotten a warrant before going through the email attachments of a man suspected of trafficking in child pornography, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Aug. 5 (United States v. Ackerman, 2016 BL 253852, 10th Cir., No. 14-3265, 8/5/16).

Although the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children describes itself as a private, nonprofit organization, it is for all intents and purposes an arm of the federal government for purposes of the warrant requirement, because it is funded and directed by Congress and enjoys unique law enforcement powers, the court said in an opinion by Judge Neil M. Gorsuch.