EPIC Urges Colorado Supreme Court to Rule Reverse Keyword Warrants are Unconstitutional, Points Toward Effects on Abortion Rights

EPIC submitted an amicus brief in the case Colorado v. Seymour, urging the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that reverse keyword warrants are unconstitutional in the the first case in the country to evaluate such warrants. Reverse keyword warrants are a dangerous new technique the police use that force technology companies like Google to search through millions or billions their users’ search histories in order to identify suspects in criminal cases. EPIC argued that the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling will affect people across the country, especially people searching for abortion-related topics who may feel unwilling to do so after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision enabled many states to criminalize abortion. If reverse keyword warrants become commonplace, people will be increasingly afraid to use the internet to search important topics, knowing that such searches could expose them to law enforcement scrutiny. This is especially true for reproductive-health-related searches. EPIC regularly submits amicus briefs in cases involving police surveillance and the Fourth Amendment.