Posted on 03/13/2012 5:03:05 AM PDT by tobyhill
A 12-year-old Minnesota girl was reduced to tears while school officials and a police officer rummaged through her private Facebook postings after forcing her to surrender her password, an ACLU lawsuit alleges.
The claims are the latest in a string of tales showing that even password-protected, private online activities might not be safe from curious government agencies and schools. (See last week’s story)
The girl, whose identity is withheld in the lawsuit, came home "crying, depressed, angry, scared and embarrassed" after she was intimidated into divulging her login information by a school counselor and a deputy sheriff, who arrived in uniform, armed with a Taser, the lawsuit alleges.
(Excerpt) Read more at redtape.msnbc.msn.com ...
just fyi,,, I thought you had to be at least 13 years old to have a ‘legal’ facebook account..
Taze my 12yo girl over this kind of crap and you will find the fighting side of me.
Comrade, your anti-social attitude is noted. You may soon be in need of reeducation.
Very good observation. I bet she or her parents lied about her age but I’m not sure it makes it right for anyone to make her give up her password.
You do. But people lie.
Facebook is nothing but aggravation. My children are grown, but I would have to think very hard about letting a 12 year old have her own page. I’d let her use mine if I had one, but not have her own.
Here’s the problem....the anti-bullying crowd are showing up at the schools demanding teachers and administrators “do something” about the bullying.
Of course....they can only deal with things that happen at the school. Alot of the bullying is taking place online.
And now there is a tend in the thinking that goes like this....a nasty feud breaks out on FB in the evening, and it carries over into school the next day.
Parents want the school to “do something”
And...liberals being who they are...feel like they have to prove they are “doing something”
Since no one has figured out a way to monitor FB 24/7 on behalf of the school....this password business is probably the next step.
Yes - the school is overstepping , but I’m willing to bet the parents contributed to the problem too.
Most police carry a taser, I’m sure he wasn’t going to use it on the kid.
It’s against FB’s TOS to give out your password.
“I can’t, sir, that would be a violation of a contractual obligation.”
exactly...and what is stopping the kid from changing the password as soon as she leaves the office?
Nothing.
Not only can she change it...she can block anyone from the school from even “seeing” she has a page.
This is all so ridiculous.
Parents need to check their computer history regularly.
Originally, I got on FB, so I could monitor things.
But you know what?
If there is a particular picture or post the child doesn’t want their parents to see? FB has a way of “hiding” these things from certain people.
There is always a way around this stuff.
If a parent is STUPID ENOUGH to let their middle-schooler on Facebook, then yes, the school should have the right to monitor it (especially considering that the parent is already stupid enough to put the kid in public school, in the first place).
We’re filtering out the world from our kids so that they don’t desire the things of the world,
and do not feel the peer pressure to be on FB or any other crap like that.
Any time they discuss a worldly issue or desire that they have been exposed to that seems to be appealing, they discuss it with us and we get them to examine it from a Biblical viewpoint. I can’t think of a time where the worldly issue continued to have its appeal after such a discussion. It’s all about exposing the lies for what they are.
These bullies .... NO thugs need a good assets kicking. How dare they invade kid’s privacy and reduce her tears by intimidating her.
Punks.
The father of the girl needs to be in the face of the “school administrator”,
and needs his lawyer suing the pants off the LEO that was acting under color of authority.
We have been somewhat leaning that way with our younger ones.
With our older ones...this FB business didn’t come about until they were well into their teens.
They used it to chat with buddies - but it wasn’t a big deal.
With my younger ones - I’m more wary, because it has changed since it first came out.
We’ve recently stopped contributing to the gaming industry.
The only wii or ps2 products that come home anymore are exercise-oriented (they’ve been dancing away to Zumba all week)
I’m about ready to hammer down on the music.
Music has always been a struggle...but lately the crap coming out is downright evil.
It’s tough keeping up...you can ban it at home, but they share music at school.
Some kids that have fancy smartphones at school are using them to snicker over porn....I hate those freaking things!
Travis, Love the graphic.
the legal age for having a facebook account is 13
the school is replacing her parents in grounding this twit
if the kids use school computers to access social sites then the schools shuld have the right to demand their passwords
Public school is child abuse.
A side point. Have you noticed that many things are now called bullying the same way the word racism is used. If you don’t get you’re way or you’re the least bit offended, the other person is either a bully or a racist.
I just Googled, “police, taser, children, school,” and there were 8 million results.
Here is one of the first at random.
Second Child Shocked by Police Taser Gun | Fox Newswww.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138488,00.htmlCached - Similar
You +1’d this publicly. Undo
Jan 29, 2005 – Police Director Bobby Parker (search) defended the decision to use a Taser ( search) on the 6-year-old boy last month because he was ...
I hope y'all see my animosity and sarcasm and I don't have to answer any post about being a sympathizer.
Why has nobody mentioned 5th Amendment protections against self-incrimination?
I’d say by age 13 you ought to be familiar with the Bill of Rights.
Yes, it’s linguistic fascism, this PC categorizing of right and wrong think.
Some thoughts you are forbidden to have, lest you be branded a racist, homophobe, a bully etc.
The Mark of Caine in the USSA.
We have a big advantage on the world by homeschooling.
They’re not subjected to the daily deluge of secular humanist liberal teachers and “peers” from homes that are ... “less discerning”.
So the battle is easier for us.
ABSOLUTELY!!!
And you don’t think the kids use this to their advantage while all the adults are hysterical?
This bullying stuff is going to cause a while ‘nother list of unintended consequences.
But don’t let that stop the politicians from passing more unfunded mandates.
In NY the schools are now in the process of coming up with anti-bullying policies that conform with a new law.
I understand you completely. Maybe we could do an American-Idol style phone call in plebescite.
Dial one number for “Let’s keep the old white slave-owner’s Constitution,”
Dial another for, “Let’s try the hip new progressive Communist manifesto.”
I think we’d lose. One man, one vote, one time.
God bless you.
The teachers are less of a problem for us...I’ve found when I filtered out certain “friends”, this has helped a lot.
The “public school” is BY FAR, the largest, most expensive, most subversive, and most destructive entitlement program in the country.
The “public school” is better understood as the “government school collective”.
It is silly to imagine that you can fix the public schools, because the very concept itself is communist.
If you want to win the culture war, have lots of children (see my tagline) and homeschool them or form your own school cooperative with your church or synagogue and like-minded friends and relatives.
If you already have children, make whatever sacrifices you must to get them out of the public schools.
DO NOT FEED THE BEAST!
Especially not with your own children!
I am repeating myself, but it must be said, and as many as possible must hear this.
No.
Nobody was tased. Calm down.
What if this girl created a facebook page to discuss whether your 12 year old had herpes? What then? You gonna fight that girl?
What if your girl created a facebook page to discuss whether this 12 year old had herpes? What then? You gonna fight your girl?
The whole problem is everybody has rights and guards them fiercely. This is OK, but all too frequently takes the form “My rights, whaaaa! I want my rights!”
Unfortunately, all too common is “Responsibilities? We don’t need no stinkin’ responsibilities.”
Everyone has rights, everyone ELSE has responsibilities.
Now of course, I’m sure your girl wouldn’t do such a thing.
But, if we ask the other parents, niether will their kid. Nobody’s kid will.
Still, it happens.
Now, don’t tase, me, bro. This is not meant to be an indictment of you, it’s an indictment of society.
Myself? I think the principal should be able to paddle kids that do this kind of crap. But then I was raised when principals could have paddled kids for this kind of crap and my parents would have approved of it.
I think that way was better.
It's also against FB's policy to have a FB page if you're younger than 13.
That said, my daughter has had a FB page since she was 12, with my approval. I find it very useful to see what's going on with her and her friends.
If the school district wanted her password, I would tell them to pound sand unless they had a court order.
It might no longer be a grinding march, with O and our Congress it seems more like a stumbling run.
Why? WTF does the school have to do with Facebook? And WTF was a sheriff involved?
Paddling is ok in my book also, but using the police to violate your 4th amendment rights is wrong. Get a warrant first.
On one hand, I don't like the idea of on-line nazis. On the other, if the parents are going along with it, I can't cheer for the ACLU overruling the parents in a matter concerning their underage children.
On yet another hand, I really can't see anything that the kid posted on-line which would merit to this level of action. When I was that age, kids vented by passing notes, drawing cartoons and playground gossip using words and images more provocative than what this kid apparently posted on-line.
If caught, we might have our notes or cartoons confiscated or, if it was really serious, earn a trip to the principal or detention.
Yep, next stop, the USSA. Whatever you do, don’t displease the Stasi agents.
The kids are even nastier now.
They don’t get a break.
We used to go home, even after a tough day, and got a breather.
Now...they are on the phones, on the computer - and if you’re getting bullied it can be non-stop.
Parents have to step in to...and I’m sure most concerned parents do their best.
However...there is a certain group that shows up that school and says...”how could you not know this was happening!!”
As if teacher and principals are supposed to spend their off-hours monitoring the online conversations.
It’s a little bizarre.
First, read the story before commenting is a good practice.
Second, no the school does not have the right to demand passwords.
Third, be sure the school did not instigate the kids have online accounts to "help teach computer skills."
Yep, keeping a low profile, ever since I lost all my guns in a boating mishap.
Linguistic fascism - love it!
I also know where I stand on your cube. Be smart, be safe.
“Why? WTF does the school have to do with Facebook? And WTF was a sheriff involved?”
Technically, nothing. But if a parent lets a MIDDLE-SCHOOLER on to Facebook, then someone better step in.
If some POS tazed my little girl they wouldn't "find" anything.
Dead people don't find things.
What if the parents can't afford either private school or to have 1 stay home? Pretty intolerant, aren't we?
FYI, I don't think that the girl lost her privacy rights simply because she wasn't 12. Frankly, the parents should have been contacted and ASKED (not intimidated into) releasing the password - or, better yet, asked to shut down the account or to monitor it for bullying (assuming that this was the concern). I'm sick and tired of every wannabee dictator out there deciding that one or another of our basic civil rights are meaningless in the face of safety or some other BS excuse.
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