Case 2:16-mj-01061-TJR Document 13 Filed 02/03/17 Page 1 of 29
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
In re Search Warrant No. 16-960-M-01
to Google
Misc. No.
16-960-M-O 1
16-1061-M
In re Search Warrant No. 16-1061-M
to Google
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
THOMAS J. RUETER
United States Magistrate Judge
February 3, 2017
In August, 2016, this court issued two search warrants, pursuant to section 2703
of the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701
et~
("SCA" or "Act"), which required
Google Inc. ("Google") to disclose to agents of the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation ("FBI")
certain electronic data held in the accounts of targets in two separate criminal investigations.
Each account holder resides in the United States, the crimes they are suspected of committing
occurred solely in the United States, and the electronic data at issue was exchanged between
persons located in the United States.
Presently before the court are the Government's motions to compel Google to
produce electronic data in accordance with these search warrants (the "Motions"). 1 Google has
partially complied with the warrants by producing data that is within the scope of the warrants
that it could confirm is stored on its servers located in the United States. (N.T. 1/12/17 at 13.)
Google, however, has refused to produce other data required to be produced by the warrants,
relying upon a recent decision of a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, Matter of Warrant to Search a Certain E-Mail Account Controlled & Maintained by
The Government filed a motion to compel in each of the above-referenced cases.
See Case No. 16-960-M-01, Doc. 4 and Case No. 16-1061-M, Doc. 5. The motion filed in each
case is essentially the same. Accordingly, the court's analysis applies to both motions.