MI- Senate will revisit child porn bill after questions raised

POLL: Should computer technicians be required to report to authorities evidence of child pornography they find on a computer?

See our earlier report: 6-2-2008

6-3-2008 Michigan:

LANSING -- The state Senate Judiciary Committee will revisit a bill that would require computer technicians to report child pornography they find on a client's computer, after senators raised several questions today.

Under the bill, introduced by Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, a computer technician could serve up to 93 days in jail and pay a $500 fine for knowing of child pornography on a client's computer and not reporting it to law enforcement.


Senators vetting the bill today had several questions. They wondered whether it was necessary to have a law requiring computer technicians to report child pornography and, if so, should they expand it to include others, such as film processors. They also questioned whether a computer technician should be considered a criminal if he or she knowingly does not report child pornography.

The committee heard testimony from Dan Tomaszewski, president of Computer House Calls of Georgetown Township, and local law enforcement.

Tomaszewski brought the issue to Kuipers last year after his computer technicians found child pornography on a client's computer and reported him to Grand Rapids police. Tomaszewski found computer technicians had legal protection if they reported a client who possessed child pornography, but they were not required to report it.

..News Source.. by Emily Monacelli The Grand Rapids Press