The EFF, Geek Squad and The U.S. Constitution

This week the Electronic Freedom Foundation #EFF announced that it was suing the Geek Squad of Best Buy computer service fame. The EFF is suing to obtain records of what it believes detail how Geek Squad employees were used as paid informants of the FBI. I know what you are already thinking; the government is already spying on computer users. So what is the big deal about this?

Well, I’m glad you asked! The fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution spells out that the government must obtain a warrant before conducting a search of your person, or belongings. Of course, it also goes on the list items needed before a warrant can be granted, things like probable cause, sworn statements and a neutral judge to oversee the whole thing.

Well, in this case the EFF claims that the FBI gave 8 or so Geek Squad employees training and software to search customer computers for child porn when the computer was brought in for service. The problem would be if your actions are being directed by law enforcement, you become an agent (in the legal sense, not with a gun or badge) and must obtain a search warrant before conducting a search for evidence of a crime.

According to the EFF, Geek Squad was helping FBI agents bypass warrants requirements to obtain evidence. There are plenty of cases where tech employees uncover evidence of a crime and forward it to law enforcement, even cases where hackers illegally obtained information and law enforcement officers were still able to use the data in prosecution.

I don’t always take the same side as the EFF, but in this case I think they have a point. It will be interesting to see where this goes.