No, that’s not the case I mean. I mean I personally worked at Best Buy and knew a person who worked GS who made a report to the FBI. I don’t know the outcome of that report or even if it lead to any kind of prosecution.

It does raise a question about what you believe regarding the limits of our civil rights. Do you believe evidence illegally obtained by law enforcement should be wholly admissible if the crime is heinous enough?

Reporting a crime you observed first-hand is not an encroachment on anyone’s civil rights. Is that what you meant to say here? If it is, I wholeheartedly disagree.

I remember recent discussions on Mastodon recently I was half following where admins of certain instances where posting directions on how to make FBI reports if/when they find users posting things like CP. Are those admins encroaching on their users 4th amendment rights by reporting a crime? I think not.

With that said, I think there is a line between reporting a crime you happen across and a systematized search of user’s private files encouraged and paid for by government entities.

From your link,

Riddet says agents conducted two additional searches of the computer without obtaining necessary warrants, lied to trick a federal magistrate judge into authorizing a search warrant, then tried to cover up their misdeeds by initially hiding records.

For the record, THAT is a problem, in my eyes and not what my original comment was about.