Still trying to get the actual story on what this Texas law actually means to those that repair PCs for a living, as I seem to be coming up with conflicting reports. Based on things going from one extreme to another, I took it upon myself to locate the law itself for further review. So here is what I was able to find (PDF).

Computer repair or support services should be aware that if they offer to perform investigative
services, such as assisting a customer with solving a computer-related crime, they must be
licensed as investigators. The review of computer data for the purpose of investigating potential
criminal or civil matters is a regulated activity under Chapter 1702 of the Texas Occupations
Code, as is offering to perform such services. Section 1702.102 provides as follows… and so on.

Let’s look at this closely, as like most laws written by people who have no idea what the letters IT actually stand for, tend to write dangerously broad spectrum laws.

“Computer repair or support services should be aware that if they offer to perform investigative
services, such as assisting a customer with solving a computer-related crime, they must be
licensed as investigators.”

Okay, so let’s join reality for a moment - nearly 90% of the typical residential repairs made are due to malware of various sorts, often times placed there to gather money from advertisers with spyware or fool someone into incurring toll charges (dialers) to the end user without their knowing. Sounds illegal to me. So here is the problem. The law indicates the problem can legally be removed alright. However you will not be able to legally help that same customer prevent the problem from occurring in the future by determining the point of entry. Brilliant, really, brilliant. I realize that most techs repair, patch and hand it back with such sound advice as “stop downloading attachments”. But there are instances where a client needs to know what is happening to create what appears to be an ongoing problem. You know, like when a client continues to have malware installed despite following all of the preventive advice offered. I have seen this happen first hand. Requiring a PI license in a state that is quite stringent with PI education requirements leaves many techs in a really lousy position if the law’s interpretation is taken the wrong way.

From the law enforcement perspective,  I can see the logic in ensuring problems like illegal adult content and the like is handled by someone with a law enforcement background. But considering the fact that IT personnel have plenty of experience explaining where a problem appears to be coming from leaves me wondering where the value of this “law” really is?

I cannot stand “big government” nonsense like this and as far as I am concerned, this is just another instance of killing flies with a machine gun. Am I wrong? Hit the comments, share your perspectives. Also, if you have more familiarity with the Texas law in question, please correct anything I may have missed.

Disclaimer: Because of the nature of this article, please be advised that I am not able to provide any legal advice in this column. This article is merely sharing my discovery and my own perspective.