Here is one for the books
Computer repairman
and AustinPCTech owner Mike Rife had
no idea - until a month ago - that
he frequently breaks the law when he
repairs his customers' computers.
The Institute for Justice, a legal
advocacy group for entrepreneurs,
informed Rife last month of a Texas
state law requiring computer repair
shops to have a private
investigator's license to fix
computers.
The institute filed a lawsuit
Thursday against the Texas Private
Security Board claiming that the law
is unconstitutional.
According to the law passed in the
2007 Texas legislative session, the
private investigator's license is
required for repair technicians to
analyze their customers' computer
data. This analysis is common for
business managers who wish to track
their employees' computer usage or
families who want to find out where
their children or spouses have been
online, said Matt Miller, executive
director of the institute.
"Anyone that analyzes computer data
has conducted this regulated service
and needs a license," Miller said.
Rife said he determines how computer
viruses originate by evaluating
private data. He frequently repairs
family computers that have viruses
and is often asked to discover if a
family member's account caused the
virus.
If a computer repair technician
conducts a computer service that the
government considers an
investigation, the technician could
be subject to a Class A misdemeanor
punishable by up to one year in jail
and a $4,000 fine. This law also
considers consumers who knowingly
enlist an unlicensed company to
perform an investigative repair
subject to the same penalties.
To obtain a private investigator's
license, computer repair shop owners
would have to close their businesses
for up to three years to either earn
a criminal justice degree or
complete an apprenticeship under a
licensed private investigator,
Miller said.
"We are just a small shop," Rife
said. "It would have a very serious
impact if our business had to sign
up for an entrepreneurship and pay
the required fees,"
Until then, Rife said he is going to
be more careful with which repairs
he chooses to perform.
"I am just going to have to be
really careful in scrutinizing work
and the questions we are answering,"
he said.
Well, I have only one thing to say...WTF?
BinaryForce
