Cybercrime: Legal Standards Governing the Collection of Digital Evidence

Abstract

The prosecution of cybercriminals depends upon the collection of digital evidence. In the United States, a complicated system of constitutional and statutory provisions govern what law enforcement officers can, and cannot, do in collecting digital evidence, either by intercepting communications in transmission or by acquiring data stored on computers, computer servers or other storage media. This article reviews the constraints imposed by the Fourth Amendment and then surveys the complex array of statutory provisions that have arisen to supplement the protections it provides.