Should You Report Illegal Content or Suspicious Files as a Tech?

A man in his mid-50s gets arrested and jailed. This is after a technician allegedly finds child pornography in his computer. It instantly creates a great divide between opinions. Was there a violation of privacy? Of course, it’s normal if you’d rather not get involved in this. It can be complicated and exhausting to deal with the authorities and local media. It could even take a lot of your time.

So you may prefer not to look into your customer’s files. But in this business, there’s always a chance you’ll face this kind of situation. What would you do?

Invasion of Privacy

Whether the privacy of a customer is violated or not stirs a lot of controversy. But what is invasion of one’s privacy? Merriam-Webster’s legal dictionary defines it this way.

“The tort of unjustifiably intruding upon another’s right to privacy by appropriating his or her name or likeness, by publicizing information about his or her private affairs… and in which there is no legitimate public interest.”

The moment your customers hand you their computer, they grant you permission to access it. While you try not to notice folder or filenames, it’s necessary for the job. It’s much like a patient being undressed for surgery. It’s part of the procedure and the doctor is not accountable for invasion of privacy when he’s performing his duty. Similarly, technicians who perform diagnostics and repair may need to open certain folders. Or even search for certain files. This is all done within the scope of the job.

You may have a “no look” policy in place. It’s a matter of only copying the folders or not looking into filenames on purpose. And after repair, you work with your clients to verify their data while they are in your shop. Generally, there is no law against a “no look” policy. There’s nothing legally wrong with this practice.

But what if you stumble upon something illegal – like child pornography. Or you discover something suspicious like a multitude of scanned credit cards. This becomes legitimate public interest. Calling the cops does not merit an invasion of your customer’s privacy. But is it the right thing to do?

Civil Responsibility

Turning a blind eye in this case may work. The authorities may have a hard time to incriminate you in the future. It would be easy to deny any involvement. And law enforcement could choose not to chase you down. So on the legal side, it’s probably safe for you to play safe.

But you have the power to end a potential threat in your community right there. Reporting the suspected illegal content now makes your place safer for you and your loved ones. Like in the case of someone having child porn in his computer. Potential victims in the future can be your children or someone you care about. Are you willing to risk it?

What about scanned images of credit cards with different owners? Of course, it raises a lot of suspicion. Is it of interest to the public? Yes it is. Those cards can be used for fraudulent transactions. This is a threat to you, and those you care about. So dealing with this early on can be the wise thing to do.

Still, it boils down to your own choice. But keeping your community a safer place also builds confidence in your customers.

Observe Safeguards

It may be true that as a technician you are given authority by your customer to access files and folders. But still, it would help a lot if you put this in writing. Use a privacy disclaimer, if you will. It’s a statement that your customers give you complete access and control over their computers. That covers you from accusations of unauthorized access later on.

Privacy is important. We all value our personal space. But this right should not be used to deflect any violation of the law. However, reporting anything suspicious is completely your personal choice. One less offender in your community makes it a safer place. One crime suspect on the loose can spell trouble too. It’s up to you to use good judgment and do what’s best for your business and your community.

What are your thoughts?