The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that police investigating a rape did not need a warrant to obtain a defendant’s Google search results. Police trying to find a rapist asked Google to produce a list showing anyone who had searched for the victim’s address in the week before the rape and home invasion occurred. Google informed the police that someone at an Internet Protocol (IP) address tied to the home of the defendant in the case, John Edward Kurtz, had looked up the victim’s address a few hours before the crime occurred. In its December 16, 2025 opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that internet users conducting searches have no reasonable right to privacy because “it is common knowledge that websites, internet-based applications and internet service providers collect and then sell user data.”
Contact experienced Buffalo, NY criminal defense attorney Mike Ranzenhofer of Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC at (716) 543-3764 if you are charged with a sex crime.