Computer store steals olympians sex photos

[MissionMan]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8481337/it-repairs-shop-stole-olympians-sex-photos

They say it's not illegal but what I find interesting is:

1. Most people do protect their computers with passwords but are required to give the password over to stores when handing in the computer for repair, so technically it's still protected by password.
2. The article fails to address the copyright infringement taking place. I.e. even if it's technically legal for them to access the data, the moment they copy it they are in breach of copyright.

Aside from the usual (you shouldn't have this data on your hard drive), what are your thoughts on what has happened?

[SamanthaB]

The mind boggles... one would assume if they where released it would come under defamation or at least the couple could sue as they have not authorised the use of the images by the company involved. If the fellow had taken the photographs he wouldn't legally be allowed to sell/release them without a model release!

It seems to be akin to a breach of duty of care.... Too bad if you couldn't remove the photos due to the technical issue with the computer!?!

[I @ M]

Leave out the words sex and Olympian and James Packer would not have had a titillating story to earn a few dollars from advertising clicks.

Seriously, do people actually view anything published by nine / msn / pbl?
Surely the only prurient interest in such stories is to make money for the publisher?

Does anybody really care that some bloke was silly enough to leave personal images of himself on his pc when he sent it for repair?

I find it interesting to read that article and see the definite phrase by the writer that "Photos of a prominent Australian Olympian having sex with his wife have been stolen by staff at a Sydney computer shop after the athlete took his machine to be repaired." yet in another linked article they say that nothing unlawful has occured.

I don't know about you but to me the term theft indicates an illegal act and unless this whole story in case has been through the courts and someone has either been found guilty or innocent of a criminal act in relation to "theft" I think that the gutter press is at work doing its grubby best to provide beat up stories to hook those who visit the sites.

In essence, the whole thing is a crock of the proverbial bovine dung and a sad reflection on those who actually read such garbage on the 'net when they could be out taking photos ------

[MissionMan]

Actually, the reason I posted it is something else. The fact that this relates to sex and an Olympian is besides the point. What if it was a photographer and the photos were wedding photos from one of his clients. If a motherboard failure occurred while editing photos (which could be on the local drive at the time of editing), this could have been a completely different article.

As for the reference to theft and illegal act, well, plenty of people here have posted about theft of photos without anyone being tried or going through the courts, so I dont know how their reference to theft would be any different. They took something they didn't own, that's theft. The fact that they were entitled to access the drive because it was taken into them, doesn't entitle them to copy any of the information off the drive.

In this case, the only poor journalism is the reference to nothing illegal occurring. It is illegal to make copies of photos without the owners consent.

[ameerat42]

In essence, the whole thing is a crock of the proverbial bovine dung and a sad reflection on those who actually read such garbage on the 'net when they could be out taking photos ------

???
(Just wondering.)
?m.

[MissionMan]

I think you pose an interesting question. I see the public have a misconception on copyright due to internet access. How many times are photos taken from the net and put on T-shirts or used in some form or another and people think it is ok. There is a perception that if I can see it, it is public domain.

As for this specific case is it a bit like taking your car in for repair and maybe a test drive around the block is in order but you don't expect a professional service to drive your car for an interstate weekend get away. You place your trust in a company to be diligent, professional and ethical.

I agree. Although I'm fairly protective over my data, I believe that not all people are tech savvy and your general mum's and dad's shouldn't have to worry about wiping their hard drives to prevent techies accessing information which may be personal or sensitive. Most technicians would require admin access for repair meaning its difficult to lock away information for the average user if the person accessing the machine has admin rights due to the nature of software or hardware repair work.

I'd honestly love to see this shop named and shamed for their actions. With that level of business ethics, they don't deserve to be in business.

[fillum]

I think the Olympian might be Kibah Tic Toc. He had quite the reputation for "getting the leg over" (http://www.sporthorse-data.com/horse/10241692/430/Horse_Kibah_Tic_Toc-big.jpg)...


Edit: That's him on the bottom btw...