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 ...
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.
The school was completely out of line. Facebook is the legal equivalent of her papers and effects. For the government to compel even a minor to do this is a gross violation of the First Amendment.
I just had to put AM on my Facebook page. Couldn’t help myself... !
“What if the parents can’t afford either private school or to have 1 stay home?”
Let me re-phrase that. “What if the parents can’t afford either private school or to have 1 stay home, while still buying the plasma, having a house they can show off to the neighbors, etc.?”
In Texas, a family of 4 can live in an apartment for $600 per month rent. I suspect it’s similar in Minnesota. In virtually every situation, there are options other than turning over one’s kids to the state.
“Technically, nothing.”
Then technically, her rights to free speech, free association, security of private papers, trial by jury, and her parents’ right to regulate her actives all remain intact and the school & sheriff have no delegated power to compel anything until a judge issues a warrant to that effect.
I wish her well in her soon-acquired fortune from a very successful suit over rights violations.
And yes, with proper monitoring (as with any social activity) a kid may enjoy a safe and proper experience on Facebook. Dunno who you’re friends with, but my account thereon is not a seething pit of indecency.
“Dunno who you’re friends with, but my account thereon is not a seething pit of indecency.”
The account that you see... Kids are very, very, good at hiding their real work.
We would have words. They I would let my wife talk to them.
That will be the argument made by the cops and schools.
A well known NC business, not one that normally sells this type of thing, is selling t-shirts and bumper stickers that read “Repeal the 1st Amendment, it discriminates.”
I fear we are losing.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2844885/posts
“I do remember this kid who though they could hide it.”
Yea, but her father is an IT type. He probably had sniffers and loggers all over her hardware. But for the rest of us, good luck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.