Oh noes!!!!.....

[RightIsWrong]

Once again, the government is praying on the naivity of the population. They are mandating that computer techs are responsible for reporting child porn and other offenses.

Now, for those that are going to claim that I am some horrible person for taking this stance, too bad. I am a father and would hope that nothing would ever happen to my kids. However, I, as an employee of a managed IT services company, do not feel that I have the right to do an end around of someone's constitutional rights.

This sounds like a way for police and the government to avoid having to get warrants to search people's computers.

I am telling my wife that this is difficult to even type because I don't want to sound like someone who is wearing the foil or advocating or condoning any harm to any child. But, I think that the government is hoping that these feelings will override our feelings of standing up to them and saying "Do your own investigative work and secure a warrant". I am not going to scan anyone's PC for them without a warrant in hand.

Computer technicians would be obligated to report child abuse just like doctors, teachers and others who work closely with children, under measures being considered by lawmakers in two states.

At least five states ? Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota ? require computer technicians to report child pornography. Connecticut and California are considering legislation that would go a step farther, adding technicians to the list of "mandated reporters" who notify authorities about any type of child abuse and neglect.

"Computer usage is a very real part of our culture and daily activities," said New Britain Police Sgt. James P. Wardell. "Laws must change and evolve to reflect this ever-changing technological advancement."

Wardell, a certified forensic computer examiner, said alerts from computer technicians can help stop some abuse cases faster. In New Britain, one such alert led to a police investigation that uncovered photos and videotapes of young children being drugged and raped, he said. The suspect was ultimately arrested and convicted of multiple offenses.

"In this case, the abuse and exploitation was stopped, but if no report had been made regarding the first image, then perhaps the abuse would have continued or even gotten worse," Wardell said.

The Connecticut legislation defines a computer technician as "any person who services or repairs personal computers." It was awaiting action in the state House.

State Rep. Tim O'Brien said his bill backs up technicians who decide to come forward with something suspicious they've found on a computer. They don't have to worry about whether they should file a report.

"The computer repairman can say, 'Look, here's what I saw, I felt it was my obligation under the law to report it,'" he said.

Technicians want to be helpful to police, but they are concerned about potential liability if they overlook or fail to report abuse, said Michael Wendy, spokesman for the Computing Technology Industry Association based in Illinois.

"I'm not sure what evidence of child neglect or abuse might be on a computer, but it would most certainly be different, more ambiguous, than what could be experienced directly by a doctor, teacher or daycare worker," Wendy said.

Thirty-seven professions in Connecticut are required to report child abuse, including teachers, medical personnel and counselors. People in those professions who report abuse in good faith are immune from civil and criminal liabilities. Failure to notify the state Department of Children and Families could lead to fines up to $500.

In California, mandated reporters face a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if they fail to alert authorities of suspected abuse.

A similar bill adding computer technicians to that list of mandated reporters died last year in California. This year's bill was still being considered in a committee.

TJ Benoit, owner of TAB Computer Systems, Inc., in East Hartford, Conn., said he welcomes the legislation, although he said the 10 technicians who work for him have never found child pornography on a computer.

"I think it's a good idea," he said. "I think it compels us to participate (in stopping) what I consider abhorrent behavior."

I also like how they claim to be doing this to "protect" technicians and then, further down...but then other states mandate that you can be fined or jailed if you don't violate the constitutional rights of others.

 

[1EZduzit]

If it was me and they had child porn on their computer, I'd report the bastards with or without a law.

 

[techs]

I am a computer tech. And I welcome this law. Because if I see kiddie porn on your computer I WILL notify the authorities. This law will provide me with legal immunity in case the customer tries to sue me.

 

[THUGSROOK]

just think of all the politicains that are gonna get busted due to this law 😉

 

[dmcowen674]

Computer Techs, the new SS

Who would've thunk it.

 

[aka1nas]

For some reason, I was 90% sure this was already the case in most of the country.

 

[wetech]

I'd have to disagree with you on several points.

1) It's no one's constitutional right to have kiddie porn on their computers. (Unless you're referring to searching without a warrant, in which case see point 2 below).

2) This isn't talking about letting the government search a person's computer without a warrant. It's saying that if suspect material was found by someone servicing a computer, the person has an obligation to report it. It doesn't say, "all technicians must perform a thorough search of all computers being serviced for suspect material." I'm assuming, once a report is made, proper channels would be followed, a warrant requested, and then an official investigation would ensue. Do you consider a doctor or teacher reporting similar abuse infringing on someone's rights?

3) I think this does protect the technicians, just like doctors and teachers are protected under current law. Example: Tech stumbles upon what he thinks are pics of minors having sex. He reports it and an investigation takes place. The investigation finds that the people in the pics are not minors and are all over 18 years old. Now that the tech is protected from retribution, the person whose computer they were fixing can't sue them for accusing them of being a pedophile, and the emotional stress, etc. caused by the investigation.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
just think of all the politicains that are gonna get busted due to this law 😉

They're smart enough to have all their kiddie porn on an encrypted flash drive they keep with them, along with all their other "classified" info. 😀

 

[minime72706]

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
Once again, the government is praying on the naivity of the population. They are mandating that computer techs are responsible for reporting child porn and other offenses.

Now, for those that are going to claim that I am some horrible person for taking this stance, too bad. I am a father and would hope that nothing would ever happen to my kids. However, I, as an employee of a managed IT services company, do not feel that I have the right to do an end around of someone's constitutional rights.

This sounds like a way for police and the government to avoid having to get warrants to search people's computers.

I am telling my wife that this is difficult to even type because I don't want to sound like someone who is wearing the foil or advocating or condoning any harm to any child. But, I think that the government is hoping that these feelings will override our feelings of standing up to them and saying "Do your own investigative work and secure a warrant". I am not going to scan anyone's PC for them without a warrant in hand.

I also like how they claim to be doing this to "protect" technicians and then, further down...but then other states mandate that you can be fined or jailed if you don't violate the constitutional rights of others.

You don't and shouldn't be scanning for anything. I work as a tech for student computers at a university and we're told that we shouldn't actively look for anything, but if someone tells us to back up a folder named 'Child porn' or something similar we should report it to our boss.

It does protect us, because we hold data on a server, we could be charged with possession if its on our computers and somehow gets out. We actually had a case a few years back where someone backed up a folder that made is obvious as to the content. We turned it over to law enforcement, just to cover ourselves. You're not doing the search, you're just giving the police/FBI a reason to get a warrant. But punishing for not reporting would be hard, because you would have to prove that the tech saw it and new what it was, which would be next to impossible.