Legal question: PC technician can report illegal software … – Security.nl

ICT lawyer Arnoud Engelfriet gives each week to answer an interesting question about security, law and privacy. Do you have a question? Send him to juridischevraag@security.nl

Question:. If you offer your PC for repair, one can thereby see for example that you are using illegal software. Or, if you’re unlucky, that you really are illegal items (stolen corporate data, terrorist literature, child pornography, fill in the blank). May they return there to do? They still have a duty of confidentiality as the contractor

Answer: If you offer a PC for repair, then it is logical that the repairer hear certain information or components as relevant for content. An explicit obligation of confidentiality not know the law. There is the “duty of care of a good contractor,” where you “be discreet about private matters of your customer ‘best can count down.

Do you see something illegal, then everyone must return there to do. That is independent of the duty of care, the right to declare if you have knowledge of a crime always exists. It is thus allowed. Whether it is useful and whether it really delivers what, then is another question.

(A reporting is not required, except for a set of very serious crimes such as an imminent attack by government or royal family. Also with murder, manslaughter, assisted suicide and abortion, kidnapping and rape applies this duty. For child not strictly speaking, unless you lead those photos as evidence of rape and then over there declaration gives it.)

you find pirated software, is strictly speaking there is a criminal offense: intentional copyright infringement constitutes a crime, it says in the Copyright Act. However, there will be nothing to be done with that declaration, because the standing policy of the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute only in large-scale commercial infringement, public health threats and ties to organized crime. That does not mean that declaration must not be tolerated but it feels a bit pointless. Plus, you’re guaranteed to lose that customer. So I would advise against it.

Arnoud Engelfriet’s IT lawyer specializing in Internet law where he is working towards since 1993. He works as a partner with legal consultancy ICTRecht . His site Ius mentis is one of the most comprehensive sites in the Netherlands on Internet law, technology and intellectual property. He wrote two books, The law on the Internet and Security:. Competent and practical legal advice