> This wouldn't be the first time the government has elevated corporate policy to criminal law
The novelty isn't in the crime. It's in the mode of enforcement. Had a police officer knocked on his door and executed a search warrant or the plaintiff filed a motion to compel [1] discovery proceedings [2] with a court, this would have been business as usual.
The novelty is the plaintiff, a private citizen, executed the search warrant themselves. The only party that should be able to force you, on pain of violent punishment, e.g. imprisonment, to do something against your consent is the state, acting on behalf of itself or another party.
The novelty isn't in the crime. It's in the mode of enforcement. Had a police officer knocked on his door and executed a search warrant or the plaintiff filed a motion to compel [1] discovery proceedings [2] with a court, this would have been business as usual.
The novelty is the plaintiff, a private citizen, executed the search warrant themselves. The only party that should be able to force you, on pain of violent punishment, e.g. imprisonment, to do something against your consent is the state, acting on behalf of itself or another party.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_to_compel
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_(law)