School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

The kids are using an Apple type application,that allows you take pictures of yourself,using the built in webcam.The Kids use it like a mirror...They check their hair,lipstick,make up,etc,etc...(while in class) he joked, sometimes, I'll take a picture of them when they're making faces...It let's them know he's there.....The software allows them,make sure they're not surfing sites Myspace,youtube,facebook, while they're supposed to be in class....

I would have zero problem with the school using school laptops to "spy on the kids" during the school day while the kids were in school. 

The at home during non-school hours part bothers me.   

[CF DolFan]

OK, Don't get all over me,I'm not agreeing with the school district.....(I think I saw this in action on a recent Documentary,you can watch the episode on PBS.org,the Show is Frontline, Episode digital nation Section/part 4 is the part about the laptops in school..)

I'm curious if this is more sensationalized than it really is....In the Mentioned episode,It shows the principal watching the students through their Laptops proved by the school districts...It's more like go to P.C., or remote desktop.The kids are using an Apple type application,that allows you take pictures of yourself,using the built in webcam.The Kids use it like a mirror...They check their hair,lipstick,make up,etc,etc...(while in class) he joked, sometimes, I'll take a picture of them when they're making faces...It let's them know he's there.....The software allows them,make sure they're not surfing sites Myspace,youtube,facebook, while they're supposed to be in class....

I'm just wondering if there is a bit of "the Star,National enquirer,TMZ reporting.....IE Some celebrity says they had a lump,they got it checked out for cancer,it was nothing, they joked they thought they had 6 months to live..and the headline is "Star has cancer. 6 months to live...."

Modified to add, the whole episode of digital nation was pretty intresting,Some of the stuff, I knew about..but it was still interesting...

I'm with you B. I just have a hard time believing it is so blatantly wrong.

[bsmooth]

OK, Don't get all over me,I'm not agreeing with the school district.....(I think I saw this in action on a recent Documentary,you can watch the episode on PBS.org,the Show is Frontline, Episode digital nation Section/part 4 is the part about the laptops in school..)

I'm curious if this is more sensationalized than it really is....In the Mentioned episode,It shows the principal watching the students through their Laptops proved by the school districts...It's more like go to P.C., or remote desktop.The kids are using an Apple type application,that allows you take pictures of yourself,using the built in webcam.The Kids use it like a mirror...They check their hair,lipstick,make up,etc,etc...(while in class) he joked, sometimes, I'll take a picture of them when they're making faces...It let's them know he's there.....The software allows them,make sure they're not surfing sites Myspace,youtube,facebook, while they're supposed to be in class....








I'm just wondering if there is a bit of "the Star,National enquirer,TMZ reporting.....IE Some celebrity says they had a lump,they got it checked out for cancer,it was nothing, they joked they thought they had 6 months to live..and the headline is "Star has cancer. 6 months to live...."

Modified to add, the whole episode of digital nation was pretty intresting,Some of the stuff, I knew about..but it was still interesting...

There would be more merit in your argument if the vice principal had not used a picture taken  through the computer at the childs home of the child engaged in some sort of improper act ( masterbating? drugs?). There cannot be enough over dramatization when a school is spying on kids in their own bedrooms to look for means to punish them. This is crossing way over the boundary of parental roles. There is a sick and perverse thought pattern running through our education system that makes them believe they know whats best for children in school and out. This just further demonstrates the temerity and hubris being displayed by the powers within the education system of our country towards parents.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

improper act ( masterbating? drugs?).

cheating on a take home exam?

a schools right to punish should be limited to things that affect school.

If the camara was only activitated because some filter that kicks in when the student goes to wikipedia on the school computer than this might not be as bad as it first sounds.

I hope the school would monitor the students use of the computers paid for by tax dollars in way of what websites they visited.  Spying on them in their bedrooms I don't like. 

[bsfins]

Hoodie- I understand the and agree there is a privacy issue,when they are watching....But then again, I've not seen alot of details such as...Could the kid have been home sick,during school hours when they checked the camera..Was this at 3:30 in the afternoon 20 minutes after school let out, 2am on a Saturday....When was the phototaken....

Bsmooth...Who's Liable for the contents,and what that laptop is used for? What if some teenage girl was using some type of IM program to Flash naked pics...You now have a teenage girl (underage exposing themselves) on the school laptop?

I see it alot like Hoodies response....spying I don't like, but I don't know what made the person monitoring the computer go look to take a picture either)

Too me I hate these type stories,because so many people get all outraged on very little info....was the point of my post....(and to bring up what I saw in the documentary) 

[bsmooth]

Hoodie- I understand the and agree there is a privacy issue,when they are watching....But then again, I've not seen alot of details such as...Could the kid have been home sick,during school hours when they checked the camera..Was this at 3:30 in the afternoon 20 minutes after school let out, 2am on a Saturday....When was the phototaken....

Bsmooth...Who's Liable for the contents,and what that laptop is used for? What if some teenage girl was using some type of IM program to Flash naked pics...You now have a teenage girl (underage exposing themselves) on the school laptop?

I see it alot like Hoodies response....spying I don't like, but I don't know what made the person monitoring the computer go look to take a picture either)

Too me I hate these type stories,because so many people get all outraged on very little info....was the point of my post....(and to bring up what I saw in the documentary) 

You can put programs into the computer that track all keystrokes and can detect if the user is accessing unauthorized sites with out the need to activate a camera.
But a big point is this. All stuff that pertains to kids behavior off campus falls into the realm of parenting. The schools authority should end once the kid leaves the campus, unless it is something specifically school related.
Spying on your student body in secret, possibly in their bedrooms is beyond any normal school function that the administration should be monitoring.

[bsfins]

You can put programs into the computer that track all keystrokes and can detect if the user is accessing unauthorized sites with out the need to activate a camera.
But a big point is this. All stuff that pertains to kids behavior off campus falls into the realm of parenting. The schools authority should end once the kid leaves the campus, unless it is something specifically school related.
Spying on your student body in secret, possibly in their bedrooms is beyond any normal school function that the administration should be monitoring.

keyloggers are useless to identify who's typing the info,sitting behind the keyboard..How is a keylogger gonna to show you who stole a laptop?....

Modified to add, (according to the schools response...)The security system with the camera was only supposed to be turned on when the laptop is stolen,Lost, or reported missing....So I still ask Why was it turned on....The laptop was reported to be stolen (after searching the schools website....)...


Hijack! When I was in school authority reached till I walked in my front door,which saved my ass once,and worked against me once....In Elementry school,I walked in the front door of my house threw my book bag down,ran a block from my house mooned a kid...About an hour later when back to the school to shoot baskets, the principal saw me....He couldn't do anything, because I walked in my house.....In Jr. High, I got in a fight with a kid,and neither of us went home yet...We both got in school suspension...endhijack

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Things like this are in play everywhere. Technology is getting very scary and people need to be concerned. Hotel rooms, changing rooms, and even public bathrooms.  No one can ever charge you with anything illegal based on anything captured where you have an expectation of privacy. However there are Voyeur's out there getting there Jollies off and embarrassing the heck out of people daily. It s a serious issue from kids with cell phone cameras in school to Full out Tech junkie perverts in public areas.

That's not entirely true.  While it is true anything YOU (Defense5499) record illegally could not be used as evidence in court the exclusion rule only applies to law enforcement. 

For example, if the Erin Andrews peeping tom videos has shown her snorting coke the DA could use that as evidence against her in a criminal prosecution for illegal drug usage, even though the video was taken illegally, without running afoul with the US Constitution.  Individual states may have laws or own state constitutional interpretation that would excluded such evidence, and it is possible that in Florida such evidence could not be used, but what you state is not universally true. 

[ToticoLicker]

I'm actually in the north-western suburbs of Philly. Upper Darby is about 45 minutes to an hour away from me. I'm in sales.

OK.  I'm in Miami and I work for a career transition firm.  In other words, I'm like George Clooney from Up In The Air.  The difference is, my company only operates in the State of Florida, so I'm on the road a lot as opposed to on a plane.

[Sunstroke]

a schools right to punish should be limited to things that affect school.

...and a school's right to videotape student behavior should be limited to when the kid is in school.

I have no problem at all with the school-issued laptops keeping histories of websites visited so that the school can determine any inappropriate use of school property, but to actually remotely activate a webcam to see what the kid's doing at night on the computer?  Way out of bounds, imo...

[bsmooth]

Also if they suspected the laptop was stolen, then they should have notified authorities and then the police could have activated the camera as part of a criminal investigation.
All these excuses being brought up to defend the schools actions fail when put to the common sense test.

[Dave Gray]

If this is true, I think it should result in jail time.

[fyo]

The facts are finally starting to come out in this case, partly due to court proceedings (a judge just ordered the school to cease activating any remote measures). It turns out that the school statements so far have been... misleading...

The laptop in question was never reported stolen.
The child in question was the rightful possessor of the laptop.
The child was presented with a printed photo taken of him, in his home after school hours, by an assistant principal at the school and accused of dealing and taking drugs (the child claims it was candy).
A network tech at the school has a blog in which he details some of the techniques that the installed anti-theft software allowed the school to use, including making the web cam appear disabled in user applications, but still available to the anti-theft software.
The network tech is also featured in a podcast advertising the anti-theft software.

Additionally, some rather stringent terms of attending classes at the school have come to light:
- Possession of a monitored laptop was required to attend at least some classes.
- Use of non-monitored laptops during school hours was prohibited.
- Any attempt at disabling the monitoring of the laptop, including turning off the web cam, was prohibited and grounds for expulsion.

I thought Dave's comment above was overboard initially, but the more facts that surface about what really transpired, the more I'm inclined to agree with the need to impose some jail time.

Edited to add: Some MIT-affiliated researchers have reportedly reverse engineered the software used to spy on the children. They report that the software allows school administrators to run as "root" on the laptops (so they can effectively do anything they want, including wipe all traces of what they've done). The software was apparently also very insecure, requiring no authentication (password or otherwise), potentially allowing anyone complete access to student laptops -- including the ability to activate the webcam at any time (provided it was turned on, of course).

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

A network tech at the school has a blog in which he details some of the techniques that the installed anti-theft software allowed the school to use,

If the kids new about the software and that they were being monitored than that makes this less of an issue. 

BTW Brilliant stratagy by the kids atty.  Kid gets caught doing drugs, shifts focus to the school.   

[fyo]

If the kids new about the software and that they were being monitored than that makes this less of an issue.

I disagree, but that's beside the point, because...

They didn't. The school has already publicly admitted that the parents and children were NOT informed about the remote webcam ability. On the contrary, numerous children have come forward saying that the webcam light on their laptops blinked at random times, both during and after school. They were told by the school that it was a hardware glitch. Only the 2009 graduation class reported this problem as it has since been "fixed" by making the webcam appear inactive.

BTW Brilliant stratagy by the kids atty.  Kid gets caught doing drugs, shifts focus to the school.  

School officials perpetrate a highly illegal scheme and you want to focus on what some kid may or may not have done? Your priorities are completely out of wack, in my opinion.

I also don't consider the school even remotely qualified to evaluate what the kid was eating simply by looking at a few webcam pics.