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Pa. school officials defend actions in webcam case

Administrators at a suburban Philadelphia school district are defending their actions after being accused of spying on students via their laptop computer webcams.

The Lower Merion School District admits to remotely activating webcams 42 times in an effort to find missing, lost or stolen computers. But officials say the webcam images were never used to monitor or discipline students.

The district reports that activating the webcams led to the recovery of 18 computers. The superintendent says the tracking software has since been disabled.

One student has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, saying a school official cited a laptop photo when she accused him of selling drugs. Blake Robbins says the official mistook a piece of candy for a pill.

The student says the school violated wiretap laws and his right to privacy.

A school parent says he doesn't believe authorities were spying or had "ill intent." A law enforcement source says the FBI is investigating.

Source

More:

School drug warriors defend laptop spying

Well, what a shock!

After the Lower Merion School District near Philadelphia became the target of a lawsuit for secretly taking pictures of students at home using laptops issued by the school, more details are emerging.

The school system now says it was merely trying to catch people stealing the computers. But that is an out-and-out lie.

How do we know that? Because the student who is suing isn't being accused of stealing a machine (as far as I know). Rather, the school is falsely accusing him of druggie behavior and druggie ways because the camera caught him eating a piece of candy that the school mistook for drugs.

So this isn't about finding stolen computers. It's about policing private behavior and accusing people of being on dope.

I bet the school has teamed up with some abusive teen "rehab" that recruits in the school district, so the school is trying to swell the program's ranks by making up bullshit. Hell, schools in my area have done it for years.

Source

Posted in: News on February 22, 2010 @ 8:26 PM

Tags: Drugs, Internet, Privacy, School, Youth Rights

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