US school accused of web spying

Chuplayer

Chuplayer

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This is so wrong. And sad. I don't even know where to begin with this, so I'll just let the article do the talking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8523807.stm

By Angela Harrison
BBC News education reporter

Parents in the US have accused a school of spying on children by remotely activating webcams on laptops.

A couple from Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit against a school district which gave laptops to its high school pupils.

They say their son was told off by teachers for "engaging in improper behaviour in his home" and that the evidence was an image from his webcam.

Lower Merion School District says it has now deactivated a tracking device installed on the laptops.

It says the security feature was only used to track lost, stolen and missing laptops.

But it was deactivated on Thursday and would not be re-instated without informing students and families, the district said.

'Stages of undress'

The Lower Merion School District gave the laptops to all 1,800 students at its two high schools with the aim of giving them access to school resources around the clock, according to its website.

Michael and Holly Robbins are suing the district on behalf of their child and all the children in the district issued with the laptops.

They allege the school district invaded their privacy and are guilty of "wiretapping" by putting children under covert surveillance.

In their lawsuit, they claim the webcams were activated remotely and images were taken which could have included anything going on in a room where the laptop was placed.

The legal papers say: "As the laptops were routinely used by students and family members at home, it is believed that many of the images captured and intercepted may consist of images of minors and their parents or friends in compromising or embarrassing positions, including in various stages of dress or undress".

On Thursday, the Lower Merion School District posted a letter to parents on its website saying it had always "gone to great lengths" to protect the privacy of its students.

In it, the Schools Superintendent Christopher McGinley gives details of the security feature, which he said was activated only if a laptop was reported lost, stolen or missing.

"The security feature's capabilities were limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen," he wrote.

"This feature was only used for the narrow purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop. The District never activated the security feature for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever."

However, the district had carried out a preliminary review of security procedures and had disabled the security-tracking program, he added.

The district would now conduct a thorough review of the existing policies for student laptop use and look at any other "technology areas in which the intersection of privacy and security may come into play".

"We regret if this situation has caused any concern or inconvenience among our students and families, " he said.
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yeah I took a summer class at lower merion high school. but apparently its Harriton High School that is accused of doing this. Main Line is a really nice area, if you're wondering how they're able to afford laptops for each kid to take home.

Oh by the way, I heard a rumor that the 'improper behavior' was playing with dolls. Can you believe that, a high school dude playing with dolls? Either way it's nobody's business what the dude does in his home.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']You have to get people used to constant surveillance when they're young. Otherwise, they'll think it is wrong.[/QUOTE]

Just like prison. Schools are already just like prisons. Now kids' homes are, too.
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']Just like prison. Schools are already just like prisons. Now kids' homes are, too.[/QUOTE]

Do you want to be safe or free?
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']Can I help it if I love the bill of rights?[/QUOTE]

Too late. You've already been labeled a terrorist. No Bill of Rights for you.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Serious question: where does the internet exist?

I ask b/c it's important in terms of defining authority and jurisdiction.[/QUOTE]
could the same not be said about phone lines when considering something such as the Patriot Act?
 
Doesn't surprise me one bit. Teachers are playing innocent but they love spying on kids. In school you're under constant surveillance (from authority figures and technology). I wouldn't doubt if this happens at more schools than just this one incident. They just happened to get caught.
 
[quote name='myl0r']could the same not be said about phone lines when considering something such as the Patriot Act?[/QUOTE]

While I think you have a point, FISA already established protocol for that.
 
It's always a little ironic when you hear about how parents are letting the schools raise their kids and need to be more involved, but then you hear stuff like this where the school is almost sickeningly wanting control.

I'm guessing the school didn't consult lawyers when they started doing this. I would think the fact that a school administrator could potentially remotely activate a webcam while a student was undressing in their bedroom would be a huge liability.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Serious question: where does the internet exist?

I ask b/c it's important in terms of defining authority and jurisdiction.[/QUOTE]

In the RPG Shadowrun, there was the Law of Maximum Drek. The idea was if you are doing something that is illegal anywhere, you'll probably have to evade enforcement of the law. It is a plot device to ensure paranoia.

Now ...

There are two components to the Internet from the user perspective: the location of the user accessing the data and the location of the data where it is stored. Before somebody claims it is stored on the Internet, most data is still stored on a server. Get over it. If there is ever a time when data is stored in some sort of loop, the location of the loop is the location of the data.

If the loop passes through several countries, then you're mostly stuck prosecuting based on the user's local laws.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']While I think you have a point, FISA already established protocol for that.[/QUOTE]

But FISA is outdated, you see. After they wiretap you, they only have 72 hours to ask for permission.
 
[quote name='Blackout']Doesn't surprise me one bit. Teachers are playing innocent but they love spying on kids. In school you're under constant surveillance (from authority figures and technology). I wouldn't doubt if this happens at more schools than just this one incident. They just happened to get caught.[/QUOTE]


For one I don't know any teachers that "love spying on kids". I definitely do not. Not only can you lose your job for lack of ethics but it is just twisted. I also suspect that this remotely activating webcams case is isolated considering the status of schools and how everyone's budget is getting cut. It is difficult enough to keep teachers hired (and offer elective classes) that there is not much money for fancy take-home laptops.

The school was asking for trouble just by having this and asking for more trouble if they didn't make the existence of this security feature painfully obvious to parents/students. Really seems like some admin/teacher decided to abuse it and that is so sick.
 
[quote name='ToadallyAwesome']For one I don't know any teachers that "love spying on kids". I definitely do not. Not only can you lose your job for lack of ethics but it is just twisted. I also suspect that this remotely activating webcams case is isolated considering the status of schools and how everyone's budget is getting cut. It is difficult enough to keep teachers hired (and offer elective classes) that there is not much money for fancy take-home laptops.

The school was asking for trouble just by having this and asking for more trouble if they didn't make the existence of this security feature painfully obvious to parents/students. Really seems like some admin/teacher decided to abuse it and that is so sick.[/QUOTE]

I knew a whole bunch of teachers who loved knowing everything about the kid's lives. At my high school, teachers would constantly scrounge Myspace to know what all the kid's were doing, who was going out with who, what conversations people had, if they were doing anything "illegal", etc. I think a couple times they went through kid's cell phones after confiscating them for using them in class. They would find out things going on in the student's lives outside of school that really wasn't their business (either by asking around, talking to friends and family members, using the internet, etc). There were tons cameras placed in and around the school and therefore they knew who was hanging with who, if you were late, what you were doing once you left the building, etc. It was pretty disturbing how much stuff they knew. They went way over the line.

Spying probably wasn't the right word to use, but there a lot of teachers and others involved with the schools that do these kinds of things. You're pretty much under constant surveillance, even after school hours. At my school (a Chicago Public School) CPS had (and still does) tracking devices in the laptops for "security" purposes in case anyone steals them. Who knows what other stuff they can do with them too.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']In the RPG Shadowrun, there was the Law of Maximum Drek. The idea was if you are doing something that is illegal anywhere, you'll probably have to evade enforcement of the law. It is a plot device to ensure paranoia.

[/QUOTE]

This is why I play Shadowrun and not D&D. So many fun ways to fuck with players... err I mean... ensure a campaign runs smoothly.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Serious question: where does the internet exist?

I ask b/c it's important in terms of defining authority and jurisdiction.[/QUOTE]

Well, ICANN headquarters is in California, their ISP is most likely in Pennsylvania and all the wires/computers are also in the US. So in this case, the internet is in the US.
 
[quote name='javeryh']engaging in improper behaviour in his home = treating his body like it was an amusement park!![/QUOTE]

I want to know who is in the wrong if the surveillance is obstructed by windmilling the camera!
 
School kids everywhere must be taping over their laptop webcams.

This makes me wonder though if any corporations do this to keep track of what their employees are doing when they are supposed to be working on their work-provided laptops. We know corporations already monitor our web surfing, e-mails, and instant messages.
 
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