The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a man convicted of possessing child pornography did not have his constitutional rights violated when Google scanned his account for harmful material.

The court rejected defendant Rauch Sharak’s argument that Google is an agent of government and therefore violated his right to privacy in conducting a search of his accounts. According to case law, the court must look at the “totality of the circumstances” to determine if a private actor conducts a search as a government agent. The court ruled that based on this standard and the given statutes, Sharak failed to prove Google was such an agent. Google rather acted in order to further its own business purposes. 

Google scanned Sharak’s Google Photos account and found child pornography, which it reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Center then reported this tip to law enforcement who arrested Sharak. Sharak asserted that Google’s search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits the government from conducting unreasonable searches and seizures. It often requires the government to obtain a warrant before searching an individual’s possessions. Sharak argued that Google was acting as an agent of the government under federal statutes 18 U.S.C. § 2258A and 47 U.S.C. § 230, and therefore needed a warrant. The court however found that neither statute requires Google to conduct any searches.

18 U.S.C. § 2258A requires electronic service providers like Google to report instances of child pornography to the NCMEC. 47 U.S.C. § 230 provides civil immunity for providers trying to “restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.”

This is the second time in as many months that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has found an electronic service provider did not conduct an unlawful search. The court issued a similar ruling in January pertaining to a report Snapchat made about a user’s possession of child pornography.

Sharak now faces three years in prison and registration as a sex offender.