A NEW REPORT BY THE ELECTRONIC
FRONTIER FOUNDATION FOUND THAT THE FBI WAS WORKING WITH MEMBERS
OF THE GEEK SQUAD AT BEST BUY IN ORDER TO CATCH INDIVIDUALS WHO
HAD CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON THEIR COMPUTERS.
THE IDEA HERE WAS
THAT IF SOMEONE HAD COMPUTER ISSUES AND THE GEEK SQUAD WAS
WORKING ON THE COMPUTER ISSUE, THE FBI WOULD PAY MEMBERS OF THE
GEEK SQUAD TO TURN IN THAT PERSON IF THEY HAD
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON THAT COMPUTER.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE
BIT OF AN ISSUE BECAUSE OF COURSE, THE FBI, ANY LAW
ENFORCEMENT SHOULD HAVE A WARRANT BEFORE GOING THROUGH
ANYONE'S COMPUTER AND IN THIS CASE, THE GEEK SQUAD
ESSENTIALLY WORKED AS AN ARM OF THE FBI BECAUSE THEY WERE
INFORMANTS.
HOW DID THIS CASE EVEN COME ABOUT?
OF COURSE IT
INVOLVED ONE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL WHO FOUGHT BACK.
HIS NAME IS
MARK RETTENMAIER.
HE IS FROM ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
HE
HAD CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON HIS COMPUTER, THAT IS OBVIOUSLY AN
ISSUE BUT IF YOU OBTAIN EVIDENCE IN AN UNLAWFUL WAY, THAT
EVIDENCE
GETS THROWN OUT.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED HERE.
IT DOESN'T EVEN LEAD TO THE RESULTS OF THE FDI WOULD WANT
BECAUSE THEY ARE OBTAINING THIS EVIDENCE IN AN UNLAWFUL FASHION.
A COUPLE OF ISSUES HERE.
LOOK, EVERYBODY WANTS THE GUYS
LOOKING AT CHILD PORN TO GET CAUGHT BUT YOU CANNOT LET THAT
CLOUD YOUR JUDGMENT ON HOW WE RUN JUSTICE IN THIS COUNTRY.
WE
HAVE TO ABIDE BY THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND THIS IS
ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD CASE SHOWING YOU WHY IF YOU DON'T,
THE TROUBLE YOU CAN CREATE.
THEY CATCH A COUPLE PEOPLE ON CHILD
PORN, GREAT, BUT THE FBI IS ASKING THEM TO FIND INDECENT
MATERIAL.
WHERE IS YOUR LINE ON INDECENT MATERIAL?
AND THE
QUESTION IS DOES IT JUST POP UP ON THE COMPUTER AND THEY ARE
LIKE WHILE I SAW THIS, I CAN'T UN-SEE IT, I'M GOING TO REPORT
IT, OR ARE THEY GOING FISHING?
AND IN THE CASE THAT ANA
WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT, THEY WENT TO A DIFFERENT PART OF HIS
COMPUTER THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FIXING IT TO GO FIND THAT
STUFF.
WHY?
THE FBI IS PAYING A $500 A POP SO NOW YOU
HAVE INCENTIVIZED EVERYONE YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE FBI TO GO
FISHING, LOOK AT ALL PARTS OF THE COMPUTER TO SEE IF YOU CAN
FIND ANYTHING ON THIS PERSON WHO ASKED YOU FOR HELP.
THIS IS
SUPPOSED TO BE A PRIVATE CORPORATION WHOSE JOB IT IS TO
HELP YOU WITH YOUR COMPUTER.
INSTEAD THEY ARE LOOKING TO
ENTRAP YOU.
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE, NOT EVEN CLOSE AND
THEN AFTER THEY GIVEN THE EVIDENCE THAT FBI GOES AND
GETS THE WARRANTS AND TEARS YOUR PLACE APART.
EXACTLY.
THE WAY IN WHICH THEY OBTAIN THAT WARRANT IS NOT
VALID BECAUSE THEY CANNOT DO THAT.
THEY CAN'T TELL GEEK
SQUAD EMPLOYEES, WE WILL GIVE YOU MONEY IF YOU FISH AROUND AND
FIND INDECENT MATERIAL.
BEST BUY HAS RESPONDED TO THIS AND
THEY HAVE SAID, IF IN THE PROCESS OF FIXING THE COMPUTER
OUR EMPLOYEES COME ACROSS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, THEY HAVE NOT ONLY
A MORAL OBLIGATION BUT IN 20 STATES IN THE U.S. THEY HAVE A
LEGAL OBLIGATION TO COME FORWARD BUT UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CASE IS
DIFFERENT BECAUSE THE EMPLOYEES IMPLICATED IN THIS CASE OR IN
THESE CASES ESSENTIALLY WENT THROUGH THE CONSUMER'S
COMPUTER IN ORDER TO FIND THE INDECENT MATERIAL.
AND BEST BUY SAID THREE OUT OF THE FOUR EMPLOYEES DON'T WORK
THERE ANYMORE AND THE FOURTH EMPLOYEE WAS REPRIMANDED AND
REASSIGNED BECAUSE THEY TOOK MONEY, SO IF YOU ARE TAKING
MONEY TO TRY TO FIND INCRIMINATING STUFF ON PEOPLE'S
COMPUTERS, WHICH TRUSTED YOU TO FIX IT, THAT IS A HUGE
PROBLEM FOR BEST BUY.
ALL THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM FOR BEST BUY
BECAUSE AT THIS POINT, HOW MANY OTHER INFORMANTS DOES FBI
HAVE INSIDE THERE?
WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR COMPUTER TO BE HANDED OVER TO
THEM?
BEST BUY HAS TO BE IN A LITTLE BIT OF A PANIC HERE
IN TERMS OF WHAT IT DOES TO ITS CUSTOMERS AND LOOK, ONE LAST
THING.
THEY FIND THE CHILD PORN.
WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE
RIGHT PROCEDURE BUT NOBODY IS BROKEN UP ABOUT THE DEFENDANTS
IN THOSE CASES BUT THE SLOPE ALWAYS SLIPS.
WE JUST DID A
STORY ABOUT HOW THE COPS USE TASERS.
THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO
USE THEM INITIALLY IN PLACE OF SHOOTING SOMEONE.
NOW THEY JUST
USE THEM WILLY-NILLY WHENEVER THE GUY IS NOT LISTENING TO
THEM.
IT STARTS WITH CHILD PORN AND EVERYONE IS LIKE, GO GET
THEM AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT IS INDECENT MATERIAL AND
ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY'RE FISHING ALL OVER YOUR COMPUTER TO
FIND ANY DIRT ON YOU.
I USUALLY DON'T LIKE SLIPPERY SLOPE ARGUMENTS BUT I THINK IN
THIS CASE YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
WE SEE IT WITH NSA FOR
INSTANCE, AND WHAT SNOWDEN SHARED TO THE PUBLIC.
THEY WERE
INDISCRIMINATELY SPYING ON ALL OF US WITH NO PROBABLE CAUSE AND
COLLECTING METADATA ON US.
GOVERNMENT OVERREACH IN THAT
REGARD IS ALREADY, THERE'S PRECEDENT FOR THAT.
WITH THAT
SAID THOUGH, WHAT I FIND INTERESTING IS EVERY JOB HAS
RULES, RIGHT?
EVERY JOB REQUIRES YOU TO CONDUCT YOUR
WORK
ETHICALLY AND TO FOLLOW CERTAIN RULES SO FOR INSTANCE IN OUR
CASE, WE COULD MAKE UP SUPER SCANDALOUS SALACIOUS STORIES AND
PROBABLY INCREASE OUR VIEWS.
THEN WE ARE MAKING UP STORIES, YOU
CAN'T DO THAT.
IT IS A FIREABLE OFFENSE.
WHY IS IT WITH LAW
ENFORCEMENT, IN THIS CASE THE FBI, THEY DO SOMETHING UNLAWFUL.
YOU NEED A WARRANT TO SEARCH PEOPLE BUT THEY GOT CAUGHT,
LET'S FOCUS ON THE BEST BUY EMPLOYEES.
REMEMBER FOR THE FBI, DID THEY GET PUNISHED WITH THIS
AT ALL?
AND THE GUY WHO HAS THE CHILD PORN, HE GETS OFF.
I AM NOT SURE I'M HAPPY ABOUT THAT BUT THE GUYS WHO STARTED
THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE, THE FBI, THEY ARE IN POWER SO NO
RAMIFICATIONS UNTIL TRUMP HEARS STORY AND THEN HE WILL USE IT
LIKE THE FBI, I KNEW IT.
I BET YOU ANDREW MCCABE/HILLARY
CLINTON MADE HIM DO IT.
I ACTUALLY DO HAVE ONE LESS POINT
ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT.
ALL THE PEOPLE
THEY DIDN'T FIND CHILD PORN ON, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY DIDN'T GO
THROUGH YOUR COMPUTER AND LOOK AT ALL OF YOUR PORN ANYWAY OR
LOOK AT ALL OF YOUR OTHER FINANCES, I DUNNO IF YOU HAVE
MEDICAL INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPUTER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND
OF INFO YOU HAVE.
BASICALLY THE FBI TOLD THESE GUYS GO RUMMAGE
THROUGH THEIR WHOLE COMPUTER AND SO THEY KNOW ALL OF THAT
EMBARRASSING STUFF ABOUT YOU BECAUSE THE FBI WAS PAYING THEM
IN CASE THEY CAN FIND SOMETHING ILLEGAL IN YOUR COMPUTER.
THAT
IS A TERRIBLE IDEA AND A HORRIBLE INVASION OF PRIVACY.