The Fourth Amendment can be applied to the Internet, computer, and cybercrimes, but it must be done very carefully. The protections that are granted by the Fourth Amendment should depend on the data. If the data is content, which means any kind of communications such as email, or any remotely stored files on a computer system, then the information is protected by the Fourth Amendment. However, if the data is non-content information, such as IP address and email addresses then those are not guaranteed to be protected by the Fourth Amendment. In 2012, a federal judge ruled that the computer of an individual is not protected by the rights granted under the Fifth Amendment. Many times cybercriminals will claim that their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated when investigators conducted the initial or follow-up investigations. One such situation is the court case United States of America v. Richard D. King, Jr. which was argued in the Third Judicial Circuit in 2009. In this case the defendant argued that his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated when the investigators served an arrest warrant for an accomplice at his residence.
According to court documents and the case files, "In August 2003, King was using the screen name 'ayoungbeaverluvr' when he met Angela Larkin on a website called 'CherryPoppinDaddys.'" The two exchanged emails and chat message in reference to Larkin's two year old daughter being the subject of child pornography and sexual acts against a child. Larkin sent King nude images of her daughter, whom she called "Peanut", when she left her husband with her daughter, the only other thing she took with her was her computer. King offered to have Larkin live with him and when she agreed he drove over 200 miles to pick the two up from their location. When authorities in Texas found images of "Peanut" on the computer system of a suspect in their jurisdiction, they noticed the Pennsylvania location
References: Kerr, O. (2010, August). Applying the Fourth Amendment to the Internet: A General Approach . Stanford Law Review, (), . Retrieved from http://legalworkshop.org/2010/08/12/applying-the-fourth-amendment-to-the-internet-a-general-approach Reilly, A. (2012, February). Digital Privacy and the Fifth Amendment. Technorati, (), . Retrieved from http://technorati.com/technology/article/digital-privacy-and-the-fifth-amendment/ University of Phoenix. (2009). United States of America v. Richard D. King, Jr.. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, BCC 402 website.