Hello All,
a few weeks ago I came across this peculiar story about a Philadelphia-area high school that spied on its students. Apparently, 1800 students were given school district laptops for educational benefits and these laptops had Web cameras. These webcams, according to school officials, were used to "track lost or stolen laptops", but, unfortunately, they also spied on students and their families inside their homes (according to the class action suit filed against the district). The lawsuit was filed by one student's parents, after he was confronted by high school official with the photographic evidence of "improper behavior" in his home. It turns out that the school district has the ability to remotely activate webcams even when laptops are not in use.
So, with all the technology out there, how do we safeguard ourselves AND our kids against invasion of privacy? How do we teach our future generation the ethical guidelines when it comes to web safety if authorities are sending the wrong message?
We all remember the story of a Rutgers University student's dorm room webcam incident that led to his suicide (http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-rutgers-student-sex-suicide,0,1881562.story ). There must be a way to control this ever growing trend of spying...
You can read the article "School Spies on Students at Home with Webcams: Suit" here http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/School-Spies-on-Students-at-Home-with-Webcams-Suit-84712852.html
Evelina, I heard about this as well. This is a huge invasion of privacy issue. Did this district ever hear about our 4th Amendent in our Constitution?! Hence why there is a law suit at hand. It's insane that these labtops were able to be turned on from a remote location. These types of events are unfortunate, however must be addressed. As a parent if I was aware of this, I would have not let my child bring this labtop home at all. I guess nothing is truly free in life.
ReplyDeleteI also heard about this incident. What ever came of it? It's like a big brother case. Scary to think that cameras could be video taping you without you aware of it in your own home. It's even worse to think about who's on the other side of the camera?
ReplyDeleteI remember this case as well, when it first came out. I thought the school maintained that the laptop in question was "missing" or the video camera was "accidentally" switched on - of course no ones knows the real truth. Off to read your article now to find out more!
ReplyDeleteGee whiz boy am I naive it would never occur to me that a school would do this. It is completely wrong. When it comes to children a little spying for their own good should be done but this is egregious. How can you justify this behavior.
ReplyDeleteI too remember hearing of this case before. The idea of no hard copies of text books, but giving each student a laptop and software seemed to be the way of the future. Now, hearing of this case makes you think twice about getting a laptop from your school district!
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