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17 Intell. Prop. L. Bull. 65 (2012-2013)
Fourth Amendment Protection for Users' Information Stored in the Cloud: The Case of Mint.com

handle is hein.journals/iprop17 and id is 65 raw text is: Fourth Amendment Protection for Users' Information Stored in the Cloud: The Case of Mint.com YENNY TENG-LEE* I. INTRODUCTION Dropbox, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Mint, Salesforce, eBay, and Yelp all have something in common: they allow users to access software or upload data on-line through any computer with Internet access. They use a cloud-computing platform. Despite this common feature, the definition of cloud computing is still subject to debate. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing as on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services).' Cloud computing can refer to electronic storage space or software rented from a remote publicly or privately owned cloud provider.2 The use of cloud computing will expand in the foreseeable future.' In recent years, the world has witnessed the increased popularity of cloud computing: Facebook, Yelp, Zynga, Twitter, and Hulu are just a few examples of noteworthy web-based companies that utilize the technology. Experts believe that by 2020, cloud computing will change how people use computers: most users will perform most computing and communicating activities through connections to servers operated by outside firms.' This paper explores whether users' financial information stored in the cloud by Mint.com (Mint) has Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. * J.D. Candidate, University of San Francisco School of Law, 2013; M.Sc. in Business Administration with Finance emphasis. San Francisco State University, B.A. in Accounting, University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. I thank Prof. Susan Freiwald for her invaluable guidance in writing this paper. 1. Harvard Law National Security Research Group, Cloud Computing & National Security Law, LAWFARE BLOG (Oct. 1, 2010), http://www.lawfareblog.com/wp- content/uploads/2010/10/Cloud-Final.pdf. 2. David A. Couillard, Defogging the Cloud: Applying Fourth Amendment Principles to Evolving Privacy Expectations in Cloud Computing, 93 MINN. L. REV. 2205 (2009). 3. See MKT. INTEL GRP., THE FUTURE OF VIRTUALIZATION, CLOUD COMPUTING & GREEN IT: GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES & MARKETS OUTLOOK - 2011-2016 (2010) (estimating that cloud computing will grow to a $218 billion industry by 2016). 4. JANNA QUITNEY ANDERSON & LEE RAINIE. PEW RESEARCH CTR., THE FUTURE OF CLOUD COMPUTING (2010). available at http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1623/future-cloud- computing-technology-experts. 65

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