Family Sues School District After Laptop Webcam Used To Spy On Student

[Paroxysm]

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017871867?Family%20Sues%20School%20District%20Aft er%20Laptop%20Webcam%20Used%20To%20Spy%20On%20Stud ent
Lower Merion, PA, United States (AHN) - A family filed a class-action lawsuit after their son's high school remotely activated the webcam embedded in his school-issued laptop, spied on him and accused him of engaging in "improper behavior" in the privacy of his home.


In the lawsuit, the family claims the assistant high school principal confronted their 15-year-old son with a photograph taken with his computer's webcam and accused him of improper behavior. The behavior was not specified.

Lower Merion School District officials have disabled the security system on all 1,800 of the computers distributed to students.

Michael and Holly Robbins are claiming damages in their suit against the district for using the webcam to spy on students and their families. The Robbins alleged the district's use of webcams resulted in theft of private information, invasion of privacy, unlawful interception and access to electronic communications.

The suit claims the district violated numerous state and federal laws, as well as the U.S. Constitution.

The Apple laptops came with a security feature that allowed district officials to remotely snap a photo of whoever was using the computer if the computer had been stolen. Some privacy experts say that remotely activating the webcam while a computer was in a home, even to catch a thief, would violate surveillance wiretap laws.

Although this case has been compared to a business spying on an employee through a company owned and issued computer or telephone, experts say that even in an office a worker must usually sign a waiver or acknowledgement of some sort.

Big Brother is watching.

[Alex The Great]

Don't care at all. My school can shut down a computer individually if needed. Alot of times, people's screen will have a pop up showing "Get Back To Work" Let them do what they want.

[Darthphere]

This is a total invasion of privacy. This seems like a slam dunk case.

[Majic Walrus]

Seems pretty straight forward invasion of privacy to me too.

[Manic]

I bet the assistant principal was some sort of pedo. Why else would he be casually spying on some 15 year old boy while he was at home, hmm?

[E-Man]

This is extremely sad. What kind of "improper behavior" was he doing? Masturbating? I imagine that he was "caught" watching porn. What else do they expect 15 year olds to do anyway? You can't fight the hand.

[Majic Walrus]

What was the webcam for? You can't see the screen with a webcam but you can see what's on the screen without turning on a webcam.

[bgates87]

This is extremely sad. What kind of "improper behavior" was he doing? Masturbating? I imagine that he was "caught" watching porn. What else do they expect 15 year olds to do anyway? You can't fight the hand.They don't say what he was doing but that was the first thing that came to my mind too just by the way they put "improper behavior" in quotes. If that were the case though you'd think there would be a whole slew of other charges like sexual harassment or possession of child pornography or something along those lines, and none of those charges are mentioned. Maybe he was just doing drugs or drinking or something?

Edit: Wow, what a great topic for my 1000th post.

[C. Lee]

What was the webcam for? You can't see the screen with a webcam but you can see what's on the screen without turning on a webcam.

The article says it was to take snapshots of someone using it if stolen....but since it wasn't stolen, there should have been no need to take a snapshot except to snoop.

[Majic Walrus]

Exactly. There was no need for her to turn it on at all and nothing to "catch" him doing.

[Majic Walrus]

edit

[Wolfwood]

Damn, I love technology.

[katie_girl09]

Damn you, Apple! :mad:

[E-Man]

Exactly. There was no need for her to turn it on at all and nothing to "catch" him doing.

This is obviously true, but people are nosy. Especially when they have some kind of authority to go along with their Triple H sized noses. This lady isn't the first or last person to do this, but she's the dumbest for doing what she did.

[Majic Walrus]

This is obviously true, but people are nosy. Especially when they have some kind of authority to go along with their Triple H sized noses. This lady isn't the first or last person to do this, but she's the dumbest for doing what she did.

I mean I understand that she was obviously abusing her authority, but I really can't think of a motive beyond "*****".

[katie_girl09]

This is obviously true, but people are nosy. Especially when they have some kind of authority to go along with their Triple H sized noses.
You mean like some police officers? /baiting

[Majic Walrus]

You mean like some police officers? /baiting

Move along.

[E-Man]

Move along.

Does this mean that you're going to beat her Mr. Walrus?


http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1162/12459671855297481241.gif

[bgates87]

WTF, that gif is reversed. He keeps taking popcorn out of his mouth lol.

[E-Man]

lol I know. I figured I could really mess with someone's head.

[Majic Walrus]

Does this mean that you're going to beat her Mr. Walrus?


http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1162/12459671855297481241.gif

Only if she asks nicely.

[E-Man]

Katie's not nice though. She's sweet and all that good stuff, but she isn't nice. Remember that Canadians have a mean streak. I think it's because they're actually robots created by Dr. Light.

[katie_girl09]

Only if she asks nicely.
Brutality! :wow:

Save me, E-man!

[E-Man]

Brutality! :wow:

Save me, E-man!

This is turning out to be a cool day. I save the hot Canadian robot, and I get to fight a walrus police man. I just love an adventure!:awesome:

[Majic Walrus]

Katie's not nice though. She's sweet and all that good stuff, but she isn't nice. Remember that Canadians have a mean streak. I think it's because they're actually robots created by Dr. Light.

Nah I haven't heard of excessive Canadian rapists numbers.

Brutality! :wow:

Save me, E-man!

Hah! I can take E-man.

[E-Man]

Walruses can't fight Sexual Tyrannosauruses. We eat sea animals for breakfast!

[Manic]

I call that bluff. Tyrannosauruses can't even swim.

[E-Man]

Sexual Tyrannosauruses can swim. We swim in a see of love that can only be stopped by people not being cool.

[Manic]

Well hell, I could stop that sea cold.

[E-Man]

But why stop a sea so awesome as the sea of love? It is a paradise of epic proportions. It's style is impetuous, and it's defense is impregnable. It's a ferocious place that eats the children of bad people like Lennox Lewis.

[Shemtov]

I bet the assistant principal was some sort of pedo. Why else would he be casually spying on some 15 year old boy while he was at home, hmm?
Techinally, he wouldn't be a pedo.
A pedo is atraccted to PRE-Pubecent children.
The kid was 15 years old.
So, he would be a hebephile.

[Darthphere]

Wow.

[Manic]

He's into the Greek goddess of youth Hebe?

*looks up hebephile*

Ohhhhhh. Also, eww.

[Majic Walrus]

Walruses can't fight Sexual Tyrannosauruses. We eat sea animals for breakfast!

Sexual Tyrannosauruses can swim. We swim in a see of love that can only be stopped by people not being cool.

But why stop a sea so awesome as the sea of love? It is a paradise of epic proportions. It's style is impetuous, and it's defense is impregnable. It's a ferocious place that eats the children of bad people like Lennox Lewis.

You know. I just peed in your sea of love. Now it's made of love and Walrus piss.

[E-Man]

You know. I just peed in your sea of love. Now it's made of love and Walrus piss.

Hater wanna hate...

[ObakeTora]

You know. I just peed in your sea of love. Now it's made of love and Walrus piss.

and a floating Babe Ruth bar.

[Mike_D202]

So the school decides to install the security system in the student laptops in order to see who faps to internet porn...

Does that sum up the article pretty well? Cause' that school is in some major trouble.

[Bad Superman]

After the court's ruling, the kid's gonna be rich at 15. . . .

[AndThePickles]

I heard this on the radio news this morning on my way to work, and was pretty shocked that the school administration honestly thought they could get away with such invasive behavior. Also, the boy they spied on and claimed was doing "illegal behavior"- turned out he was just eating a Smarties, and they accused him of popping pills :dry:

[Bad Superman]

Double post

[Manic]

After the court's ruling, the kid's gonna be rich at 15. . . .

Depends on how much money the school has. It might turn out to be a lot since they're loaning out laptops to students and all, or the school might have to go as far as cutting its after-school programs and text book budget just for his settlement.

[E-Man]

I heard this on the radio news this morning on my way to work, and was pretty shocked that the school administration honestly thought they could get away with such invasive behavior. Also, the boy they spied on and claimed was doing "illegal behavior"- turned out he was just eating a Smarties, and they accused him of popping pills :dry:

I thought it was Mike & Ike. Either way, it's pretty retarded that they mistook candy for drugs. It's also retarded that they spied on him in the first place.

[xwolverine2]

i love it when these nazi concentration camp schools get sued..

[katie_girl09]

Like it's any of their business what he does when he's off the premises. Let his parents do the parenting. :whatever:

[knowsbleed]

I heard this on the radio news this morning on my way to work, and was pretty shocked that the school administration honestly thought they could get away with such invasive behavior. Also, the boy they spied on and claimed was doing "illegal behavior"- turned out he was just eating a Smarties, and they accused him of popping pills :dry:

Candy is the next devil... teeth should be valued by children... not wasted.

[bell110]

Ok, school issued laptops? I'm a little fuzzy on this concept. Do kids have to give these back after every year, or after the graduate? Or do the kids "rent" these, and after graduate, they get to keep them because the rental fee pays the laptops off?

But, yeah, this dumb. I don't think schools should be issuing laptops anyways.

[knowsbleed]

The internet... ruining childhoods since the mid '90s.

[Mr. Wooden Alligator]

The principle probably saw the boy sodomizing his wife or something silly. Its a case of little man syndrome, basically.

[Manic]

"Sir, the student was eating candy and watching TV."

"I tell you, he was popping pills, sodomizing my wife, and judging me alongside my father!"

[amazingfantasy15]

Like it's any of their business what he does when he's off the premises. Let his parents do the parenting. :whatever:

Yeah, but he was using school property. That's the only thing about this article that gets me to side with the school a little. It's obviously an invasion of privacy, but at the same time he's using school property.

[The Lizard]

So the school decides to install the security system in the student laptops in order to see who faps to internet porn...

http://i48.tinypic.com/nx0uxd.gif

[Addendum]

Yeah, but he was using school property. That's the only thing about this article that gets me to side with the school a little. It's obviously an invasion of privacy, but at the same time he's using school property.

In the privacy of his parent's home. The "improper activity" he engaged in was eating candy. Plus, there was no notice to the student, or even the parents, that the school would monitor the use of the laptops.