VT: NCMEC email search not private search (following CA10)

Defendant’s ISP was not acting as a government agent under the Fourth Amendment when it searched the transmissions defendant sent over its network. It monitored them based on its own business interest, not because it was encouraged to or directed to by the government. NCMEC was acting as an agent of law enforcement when it opened defendant’s e-mail and the related attachment sent to it by the online service provider, because the government knew that the Center would be collecting reports of suspected child pornography and through legislation directed it to do so, and it was motivated by a desire to assist law enforcement. (Citing United States v. Ackerman, 831 F.3d 1292, 1301-02 (10th Cir. 2016); see also United States v. Keith, 980 F. Supp. 2d 33, 41 (D. Mass. 2013).) While opening the e-mail expanded the search, that did not invalidate the search warrant because the information from the e-mail was not necessary to provide probable cause. State v. Lizotte, 2018 VT 92, 2018 Vt. LEXIS 122 (Aug. 18, 2018).