OT: legal obligations

[Howard Gibson]

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:42:18 -0500
John McGregor <mr.mcgregor-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:

> Hi Folk,
>          I repair PCs for a living and since most members of the public
> think that a back up is something you do when you put a car in reverse,
> this often entails digging through an old hard drive trying to recover
> files. I was doing just that on the weekend when news of the recent
> arrests for child porn activities were announced. This got me to
> wondering what my, and other computer techs', obligations are if we find
> illegal content when doing a similar search? Thoughts?

John,

   Two thoughts.  

   Perhaps we should get lawyers to repair our computers.  Lawyer client communications are confidential.  As a computer repair guy, you are not licensed or certified, as far as I know.  You have no legal status as far as communications with your customer are concerned.  What happens when you call a plumber, and he sees the posters in your bathroom?

   The opposite case is interesting too.  When I take my computer in for service, what are the repair guy's obligations to me when he finds interesting stuff on my computer?  It might not be kiddieporn, but it can be copyright.  Perhaps I did not think through the implications of a non-disclosure agreement I signed.  Is there any reason a minimum wage technician should not pass my emails from Paris Hilton on the National Enquirer?   How about online passwords stored as cookies in plain text?

-- 
Howard Gibson 
hgibson-MwcKTmeKVNQ at public.gmane.org
howardg-PadmjKOQAFn3fQ9qLvQP4Q at public.gmane.org 
http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson
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