MAP Forum

MADISON, Wis. (CN) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously held that Google’s voluntary scan for child sexual abuse materials is constitutional.

Andreas Rauch Sharak stored child sexual abuse materials in his Google Photos account in violation of the terms of service, which warned such materials would be removed if detected and reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The platform uses third-party software to scan accounts for child sexual abuse materials. It flagged suspected contraband in Rauch Sharak’s account before a Google employee viewed to confirm the materials and sent a so-called “cyber tip” to the center.

The center forwarded the tip to local law enforcement, where the files were viewed without a warrant. Rauch Sharak pushed the lower court to suppress the files, arguing that Google acted as an agent of the government when it scanned his account for contraband.