Posted on 02/17/2010 5:28:43 PM PST by CJBernard
The complaint, filed by minor high school student Blake Robbins and his parents, alleges that the school district has been spying on the activities of students and students’ families through the “indiscriminant use of and ability to remotely activate the webcams incorporated into each laptop issued to students,” all without the knowledge or consent of any of the students or parents involved.
How the capability was discovered should be enough to put any who value civil liberties and privacy on the edge of their seat. From the complaint (emphasis mine):
"On November 11, 2009, Plaintiffs were for the first time informed of the above-mentioned capability and practice by the School District when Lindy Matsko, an Assistant Principal at Harriton High School, informed minor Plaintiff that the School District was of the belief that minor Plaintiff was engaged in improper behavior in his home, and cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in minor Plaintiff’s personal laptop issued by the School District."
(Excerpt) Read more at americasright.com ...
Charge them with child porn. Who can say some perv at the school system wasn’t watching them change clothes.
This sickens me, I don’t care if they did give the students the laptop to use.
This is sick.
Wow... I was just commenting to a friend on how it won’t be long till they are knocking on your door, checking to see if you are GASP.. smoking, or... GASP.. eating trans fats.. and now I read this...
School and school board in a heap o’ trouble!
Anyone who suspects their laptop is being used as a spy vehicle can use tape to cover the camera.
You' probably need to use other commands to turn off the sound pickups.
Word to the guys, that guy on a cellphone standing in the next urinal stall is probably grabbing a picture or two.
This is stunningly shocking. I have no words at the audacity of these teachers/administration people.
This is incredibly evil.
Press for maximum convictions on every applicable statute. Amy Bishop and Bill Clinton should be two current examples of why it is dangerous to let serious crimes slide.
The Complaint is available at http://americasright.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/robbins17.pdf
I am always glad to help the little guy and his plastic surgeon will appreciate knowing what he's expecting.
talk about trojan...sick!
I can visualize a group of faculty members monitoring multiple web cams just waiting to see what little Suzie looks like sans clothes. Hell, you can’t convince me they didn’t.
Think about what those cameras see. Think about the abuse, and potential for further abuse. I emailed Jeff Schreiber, the guy who runs America’s Right, and he says that Lower Merion School District is an incredible wealthy district (which gave the world Kobe Bryant).
He said he was careful not to editorialize in the linked article, but would likely write something up soon.
I don’t know about you guys, but the long-range implications of this story, above and beyond schools and teachers, is huge. Everybody should see this and know what’s going on. It’s sick.
Video is EVERYWHERE now. What was done with these laptops can be done with cellphone cameras and microphones. Students in classrooms are filming teachers bad days, kids are filming all sorts of things.
"Privacy" of the future will require a lot of 'looking the other way' -- a HIGHER personal ethos in choosing what to take in about people -- when we live in what are becoming glass-walled houses and workplaces. Discretion will be needed -- not by the doer, but by the casual observer, for everything will come to be observable.
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They really need to prosecute. Who knows what else they are doing. Installing key loggers or other spyware? This is literally Big Brother right out of 1984.
That’s the truth!
More and more I feel like this world has gone mad.
I sometimes wonder if all this reality TV and tweets, minute-by-minute...doesn’t soften us all up to the idea of constant surveillance.
The chit is going over the top, each day a little more freedom eroded.
What did the parents expect? The school district issued these laptops so they can run them any way they please. Perhaps they should vote for candidates for the school board who will stop wasting money on these things.
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