This wasn't just perverts trying to catch the kiddies nekkid. Because there is more to this than just the plaintiffs side and the media hype. 42 other incidences according to the schools press release where the same technology was used to recover stolen equipment.
Should they get the smack down for those as well? Or is recovering your own property verbotten now?
I worked for a mutual fund about 12 years ago. Keyloggers, recorded lines, laptops for business use that WERE monitored no matter where they were or what they were used for. Talking about an atmosphere of paranoia and "Big Brother"! But a contract is a contract and property ownership is absolute.
There is other documentation on that schools website that cannot be accessed by just anyone. You need a domain account to get to it. I'm still betting at some point the kids were told about the LanDev/LoJack recovery software.
Like I said, I guess we'll see.
I've been here ten hours and I'm beat. Later...
Should they get the smack down for those as well? Or is recovering your own property verbotten now?
It was in the contract that the parents signed that that was how the laptops could be located, so if someone reported the laptop missing or stolen, the school would be within its contractual rights to activate the webcam in an effort to recover it, which is NOT the circumstances under which the webcam was activated.
The school district was WRONG for activating the webcam on a laptop that was not reported missing or stolen and then chastising a student for *inappropriate behavior* using information illegally and inappropriately obtained using the webcam.
Is it standard procedure for companies to photograph people at home through company-owned laptops?
I can understand a keylogger on company-owned computers/laptops and recorded lines on company-owned phone lines. That's company property. My husband says they take screenshots where he works - pictures of what the employee is looking at onscreen - but I think he said the employees are notified. And, of course, businessowners keep cameras on their properties.
But, photographing what someone is doing at home through a webcam is different because they're on their own property. It's one thing to record their keystrokes and keep a record of the websites they visit because they're using a laptop owned by someone else. It's quite another issue when what they're doing at home - things that have nothing to do with company property - is being photographed and recorded.
Add to that: This story isn't even about a private company. It's about a public school and minors who are forced by law to attend school. The laptops were paid for with their parents' tax money. There are so many different issues here.