(Untitled)

[theweaselking]

School issues laptops to teenagers... after installing software to let school administrators remotely and silently activate the webcam and microphone. Such as when the students are home, on their own time.

Comments

[silmaril]

I've been linking to this around. It sounds like a horrible joke; it's so stupid on top of everything else (and there is a lot of everything else, oh my yes, lots). Here's the PDF of the civil action, however---not a joke.

[cuddlycthulhu]

Why it is only a civil action and not a criminal one too is beyond me.

[kierthos]

Because no teen-age girl thought to walk topless in front of the 'activated webcam' and get the school administration brought up on child pornography and stalking charges?

[cuddlycthulhu]

AFAIK, using the A/V features of the webcam could constitute illegal surveillance, at the very least. If the school is found to have been monitoring their e-mail as well, or having recorded any of their electronic communication, that is a violation of several anti-hacking laws.

Re: забавапано

[theweaselking]

I'm sorry, I do not speak Russian.

Re: забавапано

[heldc]

Google translate gives 'very interesting though to the end and did not understand)'

[ladyfox7oaks]

Much as I hated school, I'm so glad I'm NOT going to school NOW! Gods this just makes me ILL.

[chrisrw109]

It's okay.

Every kid in each of those schools is going to get a very nice payment.

It's an open and shut case really.

I imagine right now school authorities are taking really powerful magnets and storing them on top of any server that was tasked to store data from those cameras. Cause you just know they have storage somewhere and you just know that human nature being what it is there is going to be a picture somewhere of one of the 'hotter' boys / girls in a state of undress on somebody's hard drive.

I'm just wondering what the Vice Principal was thinking.

[ladyfox7oaks]

"I'm just wondering what the Vice Principal was thinking."

The principal, the vice principal, the board, everyone on down to the school nurse and the janitor!

[chrisrw109]

Well yes, but particularly the Vice-Principal who said 'I do not approve of what you were doing and this is the illegal proof of what I saw you do'.

[ladyfox7oaks]

You get the tar, I'll start getting feathers.

[catlin]

Hm. If they win the civil suit they may be able to press a criminal one. Or they could still have the right to do both, and are investigating it. Odds are good at SOME point a teen girl was undressed in the room with her laptop, so even if they have no proof that it was taped, the possibility was there.

[corkdorkdan]

Or a teen boy?

[catlin]

Yeah. And it doesn't have to be a naked child. The laws are written so a girl in nightgown, a boy without his shirt? Those are illegal pictures.

[cheshire_bitten]

I live in a place where it regularly gets above 100F I often used my laptop naked/in unwear as a teenager just because it was more comfortable.