No, but some Best Buy employees have decided to team up with the FBI to help uncover child pornography. These employees actually work at a Geek Squad repair show in Brooks, KY and they notify the FBI when they find signs of child pornography on computers. One of the most interesting aspects is that these employees may have been paid by the FBI, for these tips. (See The Washington Post story linked below.)
A man in California has been charged with child pornography based on a tip from this Geek Squad repair shop and the question has become, does this violate his 4th amendment right? The 4th amendment protects us from unlawful searches and seizures. Now, 99% of the time this involves some branch of the government, because that is what the right is designed to protect us from. You do not have a right against unlawful searches from your neighbor snooping in your medicine cabinet, because they are nosey, and finding illegal drugs. The line becomes blurred when it is someone not directly working for the government, but is working under direction of the government. The Judge in the California case will be holding a factual hearing to determine whether or not a violation of the 4th amendment occurred.
Do you think the Geek Squads search and report to the FBI violates our 4th amendment right?
What about if I change the hypothetical to a crime less serious. In Kentucky it is a B Misdemeanor, which means up to 90 days in jail, to not update your driver’s license within 10 days of obtaining a new address. If you moved and hired someone to come work on your new house’s HVAC, 10 days after your move, and the technician noticed your license had not been updated and contacted the police, would you feel like your rights had been violated?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/if-a-best-buy-technician-is-a-paid-fbi-informant-are-his-computer-searches-legal/2017/01/09/f56028b4-d442-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html?utm_term=.87876517e331
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/01/11/the-geek-squad-and-the-fourth-amendment/?utm_term=.a44e974462f5
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