Are we all in the Clear Re: Privacy Policy?

[Boochan]

Very interesting, and sick occurrence happening today and I thought I'd check what you folks think about it after the 3 of us that were on today discussed the situation.

Essentially we get a general customer in (Can speak very little english, but we understood him, middle aged male) asking for some help regarding a wireless broadband antenna for his PC. The store across from us that he'd come from (Cell Phone Dealer who we are friends with regardless) gives us a call, a colleague in the office at the time answers. The customer goes off and browses, and my collegues comes out with a reasonably pale face. Essentially the Phone shop across from us called us to say the guy had come to the store to check if he could get Wireless Broadband, and to check turned on his laptop. They see folders marked blatantly, as well as searches marked for pretty much various kinds of kiddie porn. They say if we get his details, they'll call the cops and report the situation. :eek:

We with-hold ourselves from looking suspicious, or that we got a call from someone regarding his info. He comes back up to the counter, and decides to buy a telephone cable. We make up some story about needing his Name, Address and Phone number for the sale for authentication purposes. He complies (barely, after about 5 minutes), pays for the cable and leaves. We give the customer details to the guys over the road, they call the cops.

Now after this another colleague who was out of the store at the time mentions after we tell him the story that it might violate our privacy policy.. we read the policy, and it is unclear in regards to information handling and the legality of it when its to do with sighted stuff like the guys in the other store did with this customers laptop, since we gave the info to the Cell Phone store then they reported it to Police.

Would like to know if we are all in the clear if under some circumstance this guy gets caught and arrested, and if theirs any legal backcourse for us giving the info that we got out of the sick, wrong customer to the Cell Phone shop across from us for the reporting purposes.

Thanks in Advance.

[marasbaras]

In my opinion ... if you don't have a warrant, you're violating his privacy. You'd be gathering this information based on what someone ELSE said ... hearsay. Not good legal footing.

[crazylegs]

Gary Glitter was caught because he took his PC into a repair shop and they found kiddie porn and he was reported, different country, different rules I suppose.

[Boochan]

Yeah our Privacy Policy wasn't terribly clear on what we can't do.
We don't need to justify collecting information, but on handing it out I think my colleague probably did the wrong thing in regards that.

[Ree]

Someone was telling me of a case of a librarian who reported a guy for looking up kiddie porn on their computers.

She ended up fired because her supervisor said he had a certain expectation of privacy and the employee violated his privacy.
I haven't read the story so I have no link to it. There may be more details.

If your company's policy isn't clear, you should find out for sure for future reference.

The thing is, the computer shop found the evidence, but it may have been a huge violation of his rights to gather his personal info in the way that they did. (Yeah, even scumbag kiddie porn lovers have rights.) A good lawyer might be able to use that. I am not a lawyer, so I don't know. :shrug:

[Boochan]

My manager got the call from the store across from us and handled it personally, so its all on him. I made sure he was sure he wanted to do this, and he said he'd do it the way he did. It was only later when my other colleague mentioned the whole privacy thing. Anyways, thanks for the quick responses. I'd forgot about it until before and was just curious.

[marasbaras]

It's good that you were cautious. Our rights are important and shouldn't be violated. Even for catching sick kiddy-porn loving pukes.

[Emrld]

I would think in the future . . .the cell phone store should have collected the information themselves when the person came to collect the computer . . .
At least called the Police when they spoted it on the computer.

Another option would have been for the phone store to call and ask you to get the info, but not pass it on to them. They then should have called the police . . .and the police called your store. I would think that would hold up in court.

[Seshat]

I agree with Emrld. Giving the information to the other store was your mistake - you should have given it directly to the police instead.

[Boochan]

No new info on this btw.
I'll be on the lookout though, I'm quite sure the cell phone store just said in the end that they got the info off him to cover us.