Ties between Best Buy's Geek Squad, FBI probed in child porn case

[SecularMotion]

Source: MassLive

At a giant Best Buy repair shop in Brooks, Kentucky, Geek Squad technicians work on computers owned by people across the country, delving into them to retrieve lost data. Over several years, a handful of those workers have notified the FBI when they see signs of child pornography, earning payments from the agency.

The existence of the small cadre of informants within one of the country's most popular computer repair services was revealed in the case of a California doctor who is facing federal charges after his hard drive was flagged by a technician. The doctor's lawyers found that the FBI had cultivated eight "confidential human sources" in the Geek Squad over a four-year period, according to a judge's order in the case, with all of them receiving some payment.

Best Buy searching a computer is legal - the customer authorized it, and the law does not prohibit private searches. But if Best Buy serves as an arm of the government, then a warrant or specific consent is needed. And a federal judge in the child pornography case against Mark Rettenmaier is going to allow defense attorneys to probe the relationship between Best Buy and the FBI at a hearing in Los Angeles starting Wednesday.

"Their relationship is so cozy," said defense attorney James D. Riddet, "and so extensive that it turns searches by Best Buy into government searches. If they're going to set up that network between Best Buy supervisors and FBI agents, you run the risk that Best Buy is a branch of the FBI."

Read more: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/ties_between_best_buys_geek_sq.html

[cstanleytech]

1. If the FBI made it into a habit to provide money for services then it was a huge mistake

on their part not to mention stupid as hell as it now risks jeopardizing this case not to mention other past cases could end up getting thrown out.

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. Back in the day when people still got film developed

Many states had laws mandating the reporting of any suspected child abuse, including sexual exploitation- the mandated reporter didn't get paid, but could go to jail or be fined if they didn't report.

These laws are still in place for counsellors, teachers, etc. there's got be some balance in this in order to protect children, and citizen's rights.

[aggiesal]

3. Who's going to take their computer to BestBuy after this? ...

Not forgetting the child porn, but they'll have all my personal information
as well.

I can usually do my own computer repair so it won't affect me any,
but the non-techies are going to have a hard time trying to determine
who could have stolen their identity and their wealth.

[orwell]

4. I work on computers...

...if I see evidence of child porn on a computer I am required to report it to the authorities.

[HAB911]

6. AT&T and other carriers rat customers out for money too

https://consumerist.com/2016/10/25/att-makes-money-mining-selling-phone-use-data-to-police-nationwide/

It's the way of our corpocracy

[MrModerate]

7. This could be the nail in Best Buy's coffin . . .

Their recovery plans are not sailing entirely smoothly, I understand.

And now customers know that Best Buy employees are spying on their data for pay.

That's enough for a permanent recommendation of "Don't Buy."

[Coventina]

8. Let's hope so. Best Buy is a horrible company from top to bottom.