03/02/2020 In re 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook, Inc. :: 2017 :: New York Court of Appeals Decisions :: New York Case Law :: New York Law :: US … privacy expectations and protecting "the Government's legitimate law enforcement needs" (id. at 3557). To that end, the SCA prohibits the providers of electronic communication and remote computing services [FN1] from disclosing information regarding subscriber accounts, or the contents of subscriber communications, with certain exceptions provided elsewhere in the statute (see 18 USC § 2702 [a]). Section 2703 sets forth exceptions to the prohibition on disclosure with respect to the obligation of providers to release information to governmental authorities (see id. § 2703). Specifically, section 2703 sets forth three primary methods by which a governmental entity may obtain disclosure: (1) a "warrant" issued in accordance with state or federal criminal procedure by a court of competent jurisdiction (id. § 2703 [a], [b] [1] [A], [c] [1] [A]); (2) an "administrative subpoena authorized by a Federal or State statute or a Federal or State grand jury or trial subpoena" (id. § 2703 [b] [1] [B] [i], [c] [2]); or (3) a court order granted under section 2703 (d) upon a showing of "specific and articulable facts" demonstrating "reasonable grounds" to believe that the information sought is "relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation" (id. § 2703 [d]; see id. § 2703 [b] [1] [B] [ii], [c] [1] [B]). The appropriate method to be used depends on the type of provider, the age of the communication sought, and whether the government seeks disclosure of content-based information (see id. § 2703 [a] - [d]). For example, a governmental entity may obtain disclosure from an electronic communication service of the content of a communication stored for 180 days or less only with a warrant issued by a magistrate upon probable cause and in accordance with the applicable federal or state warrant procedures (see id. § 2703 [a]). Older communications held by an electronic communication service, or communications held for storage by a remote computing service, may be obtained either without notice to the subscriber pursuant to a warrant or with prior notice to the subscriber [FN2] if the government uses a subpoena or obtains a court order for disclosure under subsection (d) (see id. § 2703 [b]). A warrant, subpoena, or court order may be used to obtain certain non-content-based information, such as a subscriber's name, address, length of service, telephone records, or means of payment (see id. § 2703 [c]). The SCA provides that no cause of action will lie against a provider that discloses information "in accordance with the terms of a court order, warrant, [or] subpoena" issued under [*4]the statute (id. § 2703 [e]; see id. § 2707 [e] [1]). Nevertheless, subsection (d) of section 2703 allows "[a] court issuing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made promptly by the service provider, [to] quash or modify such order, if the information or records requested are unusually voluminous in nature or compliance with such order https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/2017/16.html 5/44