Computer Technicians' Duty to Report Child Pornography

Last week, I blogged about the application of the private search doctrine in child pornography cases. I noted that one recent case began when a computer repair technician contacted police to report child pornography on a computer he was repairing. A story about the case stated that “North Carolina law requires computer technicians to report any such images found during the course of their work to local law enforcement or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.” I didn’t know that, so I did some research. The requirement is in G.S. 66-67.4. It provides in pertinent part that “[a]ny . . . computer technician who, within the person’s scope of employment, observes an image of a minor or a person who reasonably appears to be a minor engaging in sexual activity shall report the name and address of the . . . owner or person in possession of the computer . . . to the Cyber Tip Line at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or to [an] appropriate [local] law enforcement official.” The CyberTipline is here and it appears to be quite straightforward to submit a report. The mandate was added in 2007, as S.L. 2007-263. It also applies to people who process photographic images professionally, though there may not be too many of those left. The statute provides no penalty for failure to comply. However, given the existence of the statute, perhaps it would be possible to charge a person who failed to comply with obstruction [...]