Dive Brief:

• Best Buy has denied that its Geek Squad tech support employees and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have a more formal relationship than previously revealed after the Orange County Weekly reported the federal agency is working with technicians to help them determine whether illegal files like child pornography should be reported.

• According to the OC Weekly report, some Geek Squad staff had ongoing access to customers’ computers as well as frequent communication with FBI agents, though a judge has yet to determine whether the relationship between the federal law enforcement agency and Best Buy’s tech staff was illegal. "To be clear, Best Buy and Geek Squad have no relationship with the FBI and never have," a spokesperson told Retail Dive via email. "We have not been trained by the FBI nor have we ever shared customer lists, conducted surveillance or searched customer computers for them."  

• The details arise from unsealed records in a child pornography court case, USA v. Mark Rettenmaier; defense attorney James D. Riddet has argued that the FBI essentially snooped on computers without necessary warrants. Best Buy and federal officials in January dismissed Riddet's claims, and Best Buy on Monday stated "Our policies prohibit Geek Squad agents from accessing customer content other than what is absolutely necessary to solve the customer’s problem so we can maintain their privacy and keep up with our volume of repairs."

Dive Insight:

Although the FBI and Best Buy have downplayed their relationship, memoranda and other files viewed by OC Weekly detail a fairly coordinated level of cooperation — a revelation that comes days after the anonymous hacking-and-leaking organization Wikileaks revealed a trove of informant about Central Intelligence Agency access to consumer devices including mobile phones, computers and even Samsung smart TVs.

On Sunday, White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway told the Bergen County Record that the government can spy on citizens via their phones and appliances. “What I can say is there are many ways to surveil each other,” she told the paper. “You can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets — any number of ways… microwaves that turn into cameras … We know this is a fact of modern life.” (Best Buy doesn’t include microwaves in its list of connected home kitchen appliances: there are microwaves for sale on its website that feature “smart” technology that “detects how long and at what temperature to heat each dish,” but none integrates a camera.)

But the idea that the government can and is spying on Americans in cahoots with Geek Squad techs could be a problem for Best Buy, especially if rivals can somehow capitalize on the reports by assuring consumers that their technicians maintain an iron-clad respect for their privacy. And it could slow down sales of increasingly popular connected home devices if consumers believe they’re loaded with stealth tools.

Americans are increasingly concerned about online privacy and security, including government surveillance in the Trump era, according to research this year from virtual private network and internet security firm AnchorFree. Some 84% say they’re more concerned about their online privacy than they were a year ago, and 50% are more concerned about online privacy because of the increased number of connected technology devices that contain personal information, the study found. 

The reports create an opening for the likes of Apple, which fought back against reports that it created "back door" access on phones to ease law enforcement access by beefing up encryption on its phones, and in one high-profile case refused government access to an iPhone used by one of the attackers who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, CA in December 2015. Concierge companies like Ron Johnson's Enjoy also could exploit the opportunity presented by the Geek Squad allegations.

But Best Buy was adamant that the allegations are false, saying that its techs report do not look for child pornography on computers, and report such discoveries only when they happen upon them. That, the retailer said, is their obligation. Its policy is made clear to customers whenever the Geek Squad works on their devices.

"Our policies prohibit Geek Squad agents from accessing customer content other than what is absolutely necessary to solve the customer’s problem so we can maintain their privacy and keep up with our volume of repairs," the Best Buy spokesperson told Retail Dive. "On occasion, our repair agents inadvertently discover material that may be child pornography. They are not looking for it.  But when it is discovered, we have a legal and moral obligation to turn that material over to law enforcement. We are proud of our policy and share it with our customers before we begin any repair."