Think about all the cases of people found to have child pornography on their computers in the news the last 10 years. Is it possible some of those had it planted there and a tip was made to “discover” it and prosecute/plea deal to punish or shut somebody up? No idea but I’m cynical enough to consider the possibility. Heck, even the X Files had that as a plot twist at least once.
It is a favorite way to stop the opposition.
I was tangentially involved in a large/sweeping federal investigation via my company involving price fixing, some politicians, and even foreign governments
My boss and I were interviewed by FBI over a couple sessions. They wanted our electronics. I was happy to give them, because we weren’t involved nor guilty of anything illegal
Our lawyer, hired by our company, was a former DC DOJ assistant AG. He said: “NO. If they want/need these devices so badly, them to go to a judge and get a warrant.”
He also told us, “they can, and will, lie to you about their intent. You may be a good person and a patriot, but you have no idea what kind of fishing expedition they are on. Our Founders smartly gave Americans 4th Amendment protections. Always use them!”
We said NO as instructed. We never heard from the FBI again