Best Buy has been working with the FBI by accepting FBI payments, regularly speaking with FBI agents (on a first-name basis) and referring cases to them.

In the case of USA v. Mark Rettenmaier, a judge ruled that the Geek Squad search was legitimate since the defendant had signed a contract that contains a warning that illegal material will be reported.

The case pivots on whether or not the searchers can be used by the prosecution. The California judge said:

An image found on his PC when it was in for repairs with Best Buy’s Geek Squad didn’t show a prepubescent girl’s genitals or that she was having sex. The image launched the case, a raid on his house in 2012, and the arrest of California gynecologist Mark Rettenmaier. Even though the still was taken from a well-known child abuse video, it doesn’t meet the legal definition of child porn, the judge said.


FBI agents were disingenuous when they applied for a search warrant, leaving out a crucial detail of where Geek Squad employees had found the image that triggered the investigation.

The case began in 2011 when Rettenmaier took his computer into Best Buy because it wouldn't boot. Best Buy ran a search on his computer and found images of a young girl. They reported it to the FBI who then raided Rettenmaiers house in 2012.

Best Buy employees have been trained by the FBI for years to search for child abuse imagery on computer equipment.

Source: Naked Security