School allegedly uses students' laptop webcams for espionage

[EpyonXero]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/18/s...espionage-law/

Schools are out of control.

Hold onto your butts, kids, we've got a doozy of a story. Let's take this one slow: a class-action lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania accusing the Lower Merion school district of "unauthorized, inappropriate and indiscriminate remote activation" of webcams in laptops issued to students, without prior knowledge or consent. The tale begins when Assistant Principal Lindy Mastko of Harriton High School informed a student that he was "engaged in improper behavior in his home"; the suit alleges that when pressed for details, Mastko told both the boy and his father that the school district could remotely activate the webcam -- a capability that is apparently being used.

The school district has yet to respond to the accusations, so at this point we've only got the plaintiff's side of the story -- for all we know this kid took a picture of himself and somehow accidentally uploaded it on the school network. Then again, some purported Lower Merion students just emailed Gizmodo and claimed that their MacBooks' green webcam lights went on at random times, but they were told by IT support that it was just a technical glitch. Holy alleged invasion of privacy, Batman, this could get mighty interesting. PDF of the complaint available below.

Update: The Lower Merion School District superintendent Christopher McGinley has issued an official response on its website, acknowledging "a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops." Going further, he says the district " has not used the tracking feature or web cam for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever" but that the matter is "under review."

[Homeslice]

I wouldn't be surprised. Of any white collar occupation, school administration jobs seem to attract the worst people, from both a personality and ability standpoint.

[Dave]

They should have known from the pedobear sticker next to the intel inside one

[anthonyk]

That pic in the article is hilarious.

[t-homo]

And the worst part is that the assistant principal probably believes that there is nothing wrong with what she did. I hate how schools try to punish you for shit you do outside of them.

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by t-homo

I hate how schools try to punish you for shit you do outside of them.

Why, is this shit widespread?

When I was young, they didnt give a fuck what we did at home or school, as long as you shut up when they were teaching. The more stoned you were, the more they liked it, as you were likely to shut up and enjoy the buzz.

[anthonyk]

Originally Posted by Apoc

Why, is this shit widespread?

Yeah, there are a ton of stories out there of schools punishing kids for stuff they post on Facebook (that isn't happening on school grounds).

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by anthonyk

Yeah, there are a ton of stories out there of schools punishing kids for stuff they post on Facebook (that isn't happening on school grounds).

WOW!

I'd flip if I was a parent.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by Apoc

Why, is this shit widespread?

Yes. Mostly because there are parents out there who expect the school to baby sit their kids even after school hours.

That being said, this definitely crosses some lines.

[defector]

Originally Posted by t-homo

I hate how schools try to punish you for shit you do outside of them.

I still don't understand school punishments. When I was in high school, I ditched for two weeks straight. When I finally decide to go back (well I didn't, but not the point) - what is the punishment?

Suspended from school for two weeks...