You crazy Americans:
That school is going to get spanked hard in court for that little trick.
I think so too. But there’s been so many so very wrong stories about US schools recently. And to even think somebody thought this was a good idea.
I never use the webcam on my laptop – having 'em as standard options kind of bugs me, actually. But, nothing that can’t be solved with a piece of electrical tape.
Holy fuck, Lower Merion. They’re my high school’s rival school. Creepy.
Honestly, how stupid do you have to be to not only attempt to punish someone for something he did in his own time but to then attempt to use evidence that you SHOULD (if you’veh ad any education) was obtained illegally? I have a dog that would make a better Vice Principal.
I never use the webcam on my laptop – having 'em as standard options kind of bugs me, actually. But, nothing that can’t be solved with a piece of electrical tape.
I’m sure that will be standard practice now at that school. Holy hell, what a batshit insane idea. Someone is going to lose their job over this one.
I can’t believe anyone would be stupid enough to try and pull this - there has to be more to the story.
I don’t see how it can better. Unless there’s a scenario I’m missing they would have to log in and view the screen without knowing what they were going to see, right? I mean, that’s just how reality is formed.
So tell me what happens when the gym coach logs in to check on a student that happens to be changing clothes? I mean, for fuck’s sake who didn’t forsee that?
H.
Agreed. Here’s a partial answer:
Outraged families from the suburban Philadelphia Lower Merion School District said Webcam-equipped personal laptop computers were issued to 1,800 high school students at three high schools.
So the laptops were essentially school property. This might not be such a slam dunk in court after all.
I’m not so sure. It would be one thing if the “illicit behavior” was something being done on the actual computer. Like looking up child porn. Its another thing entirely when the “illicit behavior” has nothing to do with the computer itself (i.e. smoking a joint, or drinking alcohol). We don’t know exactly what the incident was, but just because the computer was school property doesn’t necessarily mean jack squat.
Sure, but the important point will be - were the students/parents aware that the web cams could be activated at any time for the purposes of seeing what the students were doing? I can’t imagine many parents saying, “Sure, that sounds great! My daughter usually goes to bed around 11, so check in just before then for a good look.”
The hidden camera I installed in your bedroom is my property, so I don’t see what’s wrong with me covertly placing it there without your informed consent!
I agree, it’s going to be a hard sell in court, but I wonder what sort of legal document the parents had to sign before receiving the laptop. I’m not saying there’s anything that could possibly justify spying on kids in their own home, but I don’t see the school getting more than a slap on the wrist for this one. They will probably be forced to either remove all the webcams, at which point the school might just say “screw it, laptop program is over. Give them all back.”
The plaintiff’s complaint alleges that none of the documentation given to parents makes any mention of the remote-spying ability. (Paragraph 22.) Obviously, that’s not a neutral source, but it’s still relevant.
While recent history has given us all cause to be cynical, the government’s implementation of a warrantless and suspicionless spying program to monitor the bedrooms of hundreds of minor children is about as clear a Constitutional violation as you can find. It’s the sort of thing that should carry with it a long period spent in Federal prison, and not a “slap on the wrist.”
A natural progression of the attitude that the state is supposed to teach these fucking kids everything and the parents have to do all of jack and shit.
The poor kid was probably interfering with himself while surfing porn on the laptop, thus creating child porn for whoever was spying on him. Ignorance is no excuse!
Feel free to skip the following double entendres:
I cant’ believe no one in the administration saw this coming.
Someone must’ve gotten an eyeful.
I’m somewhat confused as to why they’d even have a tap on the webcams as opposed to just using a basic keylogger & password system like they’ve got in university & college computer labs or in PC’s at your job. Those seem to work reliably and are pretty cheap.
IANAL, but unless the placement and remote activation of the webcam was made perfectly clear to the parents ahead of time and there are documents to support it, it seems as if there’s an easy lawsuit with about 1,800 families who might hop onboard. Even if it was made clear, the potential for damages to the students and their families would still seem actionable from this layman’s point of view. Think of it this way: if someone says it’s okay for you to watch their 14 year-old undress, that statement still doesn’t make it legal for you to do so.
There is an issue of expectation of privacy, but I don’t think that can be waived in a blanket manner on behalf of your children. If it can, then the parents who wittingly signed away their childrens’ privacy may be in hot water themselves. Again, layman view.
I’d still like to think there’s still more to this story that we haven’t heard. While I believe that school systems will do stupid things, this one just seems like it’s beyond comprehension. HEADS MUST ROLL!!! ;-)
Holy shit. My high school played them, too.