>Geek Squad employees have been working as FBI informants for more than a decade, newly released documents show, revealing a much closer relationship between the two organizations than formerly reported.
>While we’d previously known some of the Best Buy workers alerted law enforcement whenever they found illegal material like child pornography on customers’ hard drives, the new documents show that the FBI met with the Geek Squad team at least as early as 2008 and apparently viewed some workers as paid informants.
>The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the documents last year and released them on Tuesday. The Bureau refused to confirm or deny if it has similar relationships with other electronics repair companies.
>The documents indicate Geek Squad technicians only flagged federal agents when they found child pornography on a client’s computer, so it’s hard to be too upset. Nevertheless, it raises concerning questions about potential violations of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
>Seeking to calm fears, a Best Buy spokesperson told HuffPost in an emailed statement that their technicians do not actively search for such content and only discover it inadvertently. But in at least one instance, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
>Per the EFF, an illicit image found on the hard drive of Mark Rettenmaier, a California doctor who dropped off his computer at a Best Buy in 2011, was stored on unallocated space on the disk that “typically requires forensic software to find.”
Geek Squad Has Been Turning Customer Data Over To The FBI For More Than A Decade
Boomer pervs BTFO. More info:
>Rettenmaier was tried in 2017 on felony child pornography charges, but the case was thrown out after U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney ruled the FBI warrant that allowed the search of Rettenmaier’s home ― a warrant granted based on the image found by Geek Squad ― was obtained via “false and misleading statements.”
>EFF documents show this wasn’t a one-off case, and that the FBI handled numerous incidents in similar fashion after being alerted by Geek Squad technicians at the company’s repair facility in Kentucky. (The company’s Kentucky Geek Squad City facility handles more serious repairs, including work like data recovery that could require them to sift through a customer’s data.)
>Records uncovered as a result of the Rettenmaier case show the Bureau had “eight FBI informants at Geek Squad City” from 2007-2012, and that some Geek Squad employees were paid between $500 and $1,000 for their help. At least one Geek Squad technician attempted to give the money back and was rebuffed.
>In an emailed statement to HuffPost, Best Buy sought to temper concerns about possibly illegal searches, saying the company has both a moral and, in some cases, legal obligation to alert authorities when employees find child pornography ― as it does “nearly 100 times a year.”
>Customers are also made aware of the policy in writing prior to Geek Squad beginning any repair.
>“As a company, we have not sought or received training from law enforcement in how to search for child pornography,” the company said. “Our policies prohibit employees from doing anything other than what is necessary to solve the customer’s problem. In the wake of these allegations, we have redoubled our efforts to train employees on what to do — and not do — in these circumstances.”
>Using geek squad
>Geek Squad Has Been Turning Customer Data Over To The FBI For More Than A Decade
kek
big if true
We are putting people in jail for pictures....
We knew about this a decade ago, you faggot. It was all over the place a decade ago. Am I in another dimension where no one told you this and there are still best buys?
Yeah, but it's not just about CP... there were paid informants at Geek Squad, of all places. A blatant Fourth Amendment violation. The FBI is corrupt to its core and needs to be dismantled.
How fascinating. Guess don't fuck with geek squad / Best Buy if you're a sketchy guy?
Why can't they just let pervs masturbate in peace?
It's true they hire you. No need to visit their website to drop that application after all.
>employees find child pornography ― as it does “nearly 100 times a year.”
download virus infected cp
fuck up your computer beyond belief
take it to best buy
mfw people are actually that fucking stupid
Not everyone was born into the wired.
Just imagine if we were in a fascist society and we weren't allowed to bring this stuff to light or we would get arrested.
I've been looking for articles, which I can not find, but I can remember clearly talking about this with people at my helpdesk job in 2010. I remember it clear as a bell, and yet I cannot find any articles. I am not crazy, I wish I were, It would be so much easier and I could get neet bux.
They weren't just looking on your computer in their shop, back then they would come to your home to install/upgrade/troubleshoot equipment.
I told them not to take the contracts but money is more important than the privacy of your peers.
Fuck the fbi, fuck all their confidential informants, they need to stop breathing Earth air NOW!
Problem, pedo?
Jury duty is gonna be so fun. I'm gonna nullify any cases where the victims are pictures or drawings.
Well yeah, I'd imagine they're obliged to report crimes
Its only so dumb pedos (97% of all) get weeded out of society and those that survive and are tech literate (trust me they are more tech literate than forums like Sup Forums or subreddits like /r/sysadmin for survival) will get all the lolis they want somehow
That's a big cave you're coming from, OP.
>not fixing your own shit
>using Geek Squad
You deserve this.
geeksquad is a crutch for people that don't know that google is the answer to everything, or don't have a family member that knows that google is the answer to everything.
Unless its an obscure hardware problem, you sure as hell can fix something with your keyboard, a weekend, and money for repair parts.
>sys admins
>tech literate
thats like saying a security guard is a navy seal
sys admins are dumb as bricks