School Used Student Webcams to Spy on Them

[kingnoobe]

At the people saying unplug the webcam. Telling them to unplug the webcam is like telling somebody they should've wore a vest before they got shot.

The school had no authority or reason for spying on this kid at home. I really hope criminal charges are pressed as there is no telling what else they were watching.

 

[one-shot]

This neat little tool I just found on the internet, called Google, gave me this.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/Constitution/amendment05/

I'm stunned that more people haven't encountered this magical thing. I bet it would save countless posts on forums if more people knew what it was and how to use it.

 

[crazazyasian1337]

ok, so I go to this school, and there are a few things to be cleared up.

firstly, every student was given a MacBook by the school to take home and use for the whole year. These MacBooks however have the capability of being remotely accessed by the school at any time, a feature originally intended to be used in case the computer was lost. The problem is, someone has apparently been caught doing something illegal while at home through this camera, and thus the lawsuit began.

The principal made a statement today during school saying the school district would never use the camera to spy on kids and that the whole situation was being blown out of proportion.

 

[crazazyasian1337]

in addition, here is the school's response
http://bit.ly/dAGf0t

 

[Guest]

that still doesn't explain why they were invading his privacy in the first place.

To my knowledge, you can't submit evidence to the court if it was obtained illegally.

 

[mr_tuel]

What if it was another student who was accessing the cameras? That could explain the districts denial.

I still smell a rat though, as schools are increasingly trying to control students lives outside of school.

 

[Guest]

I think you are overreacting. The laptop was and remains the school's property, not the student's. They have a right to monitor their property. The fact that this student was at home is a moot point. GEt over it.

 

[crazazyasian1337]

Apparently the laptop was never paid for and was therefore believe to be stolen and therefore they turned on the camera to see who was using it.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]Get a Desktop. Unplug your webcam unless you're using it. Problem solved.[/citation]
Are you that naive?
This is a clear violation of privacy. I do hope they get their @sses sued to the ground.

 

[cappster]

This is a 4th Amendment issue. Come on people, learn the freaking Constitution. This is a blatant violation of privacy.

 

[Guest]

"With built-in webcams now bring standard on most laptops,"

How do you unplug a cam built into a laptop?

On another note, another incomplete story with poor spelling and grammar makes it onto Tom's. I figured maybe this time I'd click on a link and get something interesting to read. I guess not. Good-bye Tom's.

 

[itrendslave]

[citation][nom]randydinkins[/nom]I think you are overreacting. The laptop was and remains the school's property, not the student's. They have a right to monitor their property. The fact that this student was at home is a moot point. GEt over it.[/citation]
Well, you've got one train of thought on the right track... but, as the engineer, you looked down during a crucial Y-split in the track and headed 1/5 of the way across the country in the wrong direction. Yes, it is school property. Yes, they should have full access to monitor it at any and all times (ie remote desktop software, or whatever method they choose to monitor the ON-COMPUTER activity). They should NOT have access to the webcam to see what PEOPLE (who they do not own) are doing OUTSIDE of the computer. The article doesn't specify what the student was caught doing, but it did mention that the webcam was used in determining the "improper activity" he was doing.

 

[spectrewind]

[citation][nom]YammeringAway[/nom]"With built-in webcams now bring standard on most laptops,"How do you unplug a cam built into a laptop?On another note, another incomplete story with poor spelling and grammar makes it onto Tom's. I figured maybe this time I'd click on a link and get something interesting to read. I guess not. Good-bye Tom's.[/citation]

That's what I was thinking. The ability to remain silent does not seem to match this. Person vs. search & seizure does.

 

[nebun]

ok, it looks to me that a horny IT was trying to get his stuff off by watching a little boy. damn these people, i am a parent and if something like this will ever happen to my child i will kill that person. phucking idiots. the way i look at it, is like this, you have no business connecting to anyones machine unless you are authorized to do so.

 

[surfer1337dude]

This is extremely interesting. The first reaction I got from the article though is how could a school punish anyone for doing something in their own home?

This is a violation of a person's privacy though. Some of the comments point to the idea of the laptop being the schools property and have the right to monitor it at any time. Well firstly they did not say that the laptops belong to the school (to use the laptop on the internet a schools, sometimes they require you to install some software first....which could have been the case giving them access to the camera). Although even if it was the school's property then "maybe" they would have the right to monitor it at any time....I am not sure how legal that idea is, although I am not saying your wrong here. But monitoring the laptop would involve having a remote desktop to check the system and what it has been used for and not activate an input/output device like a webcam.

Im also curious to see what this "improper behavior" is, but it does remind me of the book 1984.

 

[surfer1337dude]

[citation][nom]crazazyasian1337[/nom]ok, so I go to this school, and there are a few things to be cleared up.firstly, every student was given a MacBook by the school to take home and use for the whole year. These MacBooks however have the capability of being remotely accessed by the school at any time, a feature originally intended to be used in case the computer was lost. The problem is, someone has apparently been caught doing something illegal while at home through this camera, and thus the lawsuit began.The principal made a statement today during school saying the school district would never use the camera to spy on kids and that the whole situation was being blown out of proportion.[/citation]
Well if you really do go to this school; thank you for posting. Although your principal is full of *something* since they had a picture of the kid doing something. Also how many illegal things can you really do in your own home? Also they never said anything the student was doing was illegal just as a note (although if you know what they did, would you mind sharing?). Cant wait to hear more

 

[Guest]

A Supreme Court case set a precedent by saying a police agency doesn't have the right to use infrared on a persons home that's suspected of growing pot with heat lamps.

The police need to either be invited or have a search warrant to enter ones house. A school doesn't have more rights because they own the computer that's being used... even if the kid is masturbating to mascots of rivals schools

 

[marcusmurphy]

[citation][nom]JasonAkkerman[/nom]fifth ammendment .... AmendmentLooks like someone needs to go back to school and pay more attention in English and Government classes.[/citation]
Wow, and you didn't even need a webcam to point that out...

 

[anamaniac]

[citation][nom]dj1001[/nom]if that was me i would just put a piece of tap over the camera[/citation]
If that was me I'd beat my principal over the head with the laptop!
[citation][nom]randydinkins[/nom]I think you are overreacting. The laptop was and remains the school's property, not the student's. They have a right to monitor their property. The fact that this student was at home is a moot point. GEt over it.[/citation]
I don't care. This is an excessive invasion of privacy and is going too far. If you want to keep track of your property, maybe use GPS, but peering right through into a students home? I don't give a damn if someone else owns it, my home is absolutely none of their business.

 

[surfer1337dude]

[citation][nom]anamaniac[/nom]my home is absolutely none of their business.[/citation]

Not to mention being punished for what you do in your home XD