Pennsylvania School Accused of Issuing Webcam Laptops to Spy on Students

TRITE AND OVERUSED ORWELLIAN REFERENCE HERE

Quote :

A federal class action lawsuit charges that a suburban Philadelphia school district has been spying on students and families via remotely activated webcams in laptops the schools issued to students.

The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit alleges that the cameras captured images of Harriton High School students and their families as they undressed and in other compromising situations.

Child porn charges!

Invasion of privacy!

Obviously just a fucking terrible idea!

WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THIS

Quote :

The plaintiffs found out about the cameras when an assistant principal allegedly told a student that authorities believed the student was engaged in improper behavior at home "and cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in the laptop."

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NOW THAT'S JUST GODDAMN STUPID

Quote :

The Lower Merion School District issued the laptops, outfitted with webcams, to each of its approximately 1,800 high school students, the suit says.

The suit alleges that the student verified through the assistant principal that the school district "in fact has the ability to remotely activate the webcam contained in a student's personal laptop computer issued by the school district at any time it chose and to view and capture whatever images were in front of the webcam, all without the knowledge, permission or authorization of any persons then and there using the laptop computer."

I'm still reeling from the fact that someone actually thought this was justified and okay. I just...what the hell.

What the fucking fuck.

NOT COOL.

Isn't it illegal, or something? I mean, I know the government pretty much has carte blanche to do shit like this, but isn't there a law against videotaping people without permission? In their own homes, no less?

If not, I imagine it's going to end with a lot of lawsuits, regardless.

Wow. Just freaking wow.

Mafiosa wrote:

TRITE AND OVERUSED ORWELLIAN REFERENCE HERE

Quote :

A federal class action lawsuit charges that a suburban Philadelphia school district has been spying on students and families via remotely activated webcams in laptops the schools issued to students.

The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit alleges that the cameras captured images of Harriton High School students and their families as they undressed and in other compromising situations.

Child porn charges!

Yeah, seriously... if a teenager can be brought up on charges of distributing CP for sending a naked picture of themselves to their friends... how much more should these assholes be brought up on CP charges for this?

Quote :

The plaintiffs found out about the cameras when an assistant principal allegedly told a student that authorities believed the student was engaged in improper behavior at home "and cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in the laptop."

Annnnnnd... how is that going to be admissable in court (if it was criminal activity)? Spotts, tell us this.

And admitting that you were (illegally, I would think) spying on your students and their families through a webcam? Wow. Was this assistant principal actually a Bond-villain reject?

Azzandra wrote:

Isn't it illegal, or something? I mean, I know the government pretty much has carte blanche to do shit like this, but isn't there a law against videotaping people without permission? In their own homes, no less?

If not, I imagine it's going to end with a lot of lawsuits, regardless.

It's already in a class action lawsuit. This is SO FUCKING ILLEGAL it is unreal. It's illegal on several levels.

DIS SHIT IS CRAY-ZEE

Malganis wrote:

Quote :

The plaintiffs found out about the cameras when an assistant principal allegedly told a student that authorities believed the student was engaged in improper behavior at home "and cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in the laptop."

Annnnnnd... how is that going to be admissable in court (if it was criminal activity)? Spotts, tell us this.

A judge would have to be senile to allow this into evidence.

For one thing, Pennsylvania is a "two-party" wiretap state. That means when you are recording something (unless you are in a place with no expectation of privacy or are recording subject to a lawfully-executed warrant), you need consent of all parties present.

For another, the school's potential justifications don't fly because their authority essentially ends at the schoolhouse door. While you are at school, the school authorities have more power because they are acting in loco parentis. But once the bell rings and the kids go home, they don't have the authority to do jack.

"My dog ate my porn!"

boing boing has more

Quote :

According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District (PA) et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools' administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins's child was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines.

Here is the actual filing

What the fuck.

Already a thread

jus saying. Please don't kill me and send various body parts to minor celebrities like that last guy.

Eh, it happens.

PFAHAHA

WHAT PONCES

They seriously thought that was a good idea in an era where privacy is a multibillion dollar business.

Come now.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Wow. We haven't even done that here, and it's positively Orwellian rightpond.

This is totally justified. It clear through the behavior of many teenagers today that we can't trust parents to handle their own shit. When there are so many households where both parents have full time jobs, it's obvious that something had to be done to make sure teenagers are raised properly.

And tell me where in the Constitution it says you can't do this. because if it doesn't say, word for word, that you "can't videotape minors in their own homes without their prior consent or knowledge," it's obviously allowed under the Constitution.

Spoiler:

Don't you just love living in an endemic surveillance society?

Compared to this, I'm glad the only thing the compulsory laptop my school gave me was a bad shoulder. D:

And you thought it was okay to leave the webcam pointing into the house when it was off...

-starts spinning around webcams to face the walls-

Even with multiple sources, I'm still having a hard time even believing this. It sounds like the plot of a teen movie, and would probably make quite a good one (complete with dramatic climax where the nerd, cheerleader, jock, brain and goth Five Person Band of protagonists confront the moustache-twirling principal and he admits his crimes) if monkeyed with so that it's some sort of Evil Government Conspiracy trial-run.

Let's hope this is NOT a taste of things to come!

TheHermit wrote:

Don't you just love living in an endemic surveillance society?

Far as I'm concerned, the more data they collect, the less likely they are to actually look at it.

Which is why in the summer I often get my tits out for the CCTV cameras. Nobody's going to see.

Raine wrote:

Compared to this, I'm glad the only thing the compulsory laptop my school gave me was a bad shoulder. D:

Wait, how did that happen? Is that like tennis elbow? Oh God, is there a special laptop brace I need I don't know about? I KNEW I COULDN'T HANDLE THIS NEWFANGLED TECHNOLOGY