Does a probation condition requiring a defendant to provide the passwords to their social media accounts constitute an invasion of privacy?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Lopez, H043323 (Cal. App. 2019):

This court rejected an overbreadth argument in People v. Ebertowski (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 1170 (Ebertowski), where the challenged probation conditions required the defendant to (1) " 'provide all passwords to any electronic devices, including cell phones, computers or notepads, within [the defendant's] custody or control, and submit such devices to search at any time without a warrant by any peace officer,' " and (2) " 'provide all passwords to any social media sites . . . and to submit those sites to search at any time without a warrant by any peace officer.' " (Id. at p. 1172.) The defendant in Ebertowski, a member of a criminal street gang, used social media to promote his gang. This court rejected the defendant's claim that the condition was "not narrowly tailored to [its] purpose so as to limit [its] impact on his constitutional rights to privacy, speech, and association" and concluded that the state's interest in preventing the defendant from continuing to associate with gangs and participate in gang activities, which was served by the condition, outweighed the minimal invasion of his privacy. (Id. at p. 1175.)

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