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Suit: Pa. school used webcams to spy on students

ludahai

ludahai

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PHILADELPHIA – A suburban Philadelphia school district used the webcams in school-issued laptops to spy on students at home, potentially catching them and their families in compromising situations, a family claims in a federal lawsuit.

Lower Merion School District officials would not comment on the accusation, but angry students have already responded by putting tape on their laptop cameras and microphones.
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This is insane. I hope this school district gets taught a lesson if indeed they are guilty of using these laptops to spy on students and their families.
 
Hoooo boy this is gonna get ugly.
 
ludahai said:
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This is insane. I hope this school district gets taught a lesson if indeed they are guilty of using these laptops to spy on students and their families.
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How many of these parents do you folks think would sign a California style "this school sucks" petition and fire the principal?
 
Jerry said:
How many of these parents do you folks think would sign a California style "this school sucks" petition and fire the principal?
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All of them. Regardless of whose fault it ACTUALLY is.
 
Is it a mandate that you take the school issued laptop home?.....
If not, could that be construed as an 'invitation' to enter the home?.....:confused:
I'll bet some of those tapes are pretty interesting....:rofl
 
Partisan said:
Is it a mandate that you take the school issued laptop home?.....
If not, could that be construed as an 'invitation' to enter the home?.....:confused:
I'll bet some of those tapes are pretty interesting....:rofl
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My tech school issues laptops for some programs. If they tried a stunt like this they could kiss their business good-by.
 
Partisan said:
Is it a mandate that you take the school issued laptop home?.....
If not, could that be construed as an 'invitation' to enter the home?.....:confused:
I'll bet some of those tapes are pretty interesting....:rofl
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Not without informing the families. Without informing the parents that it could be used in this manner, it could not be construed as an invitation to enter the home.
 
Does anyone have a link? This is so preposterous I find it hard to believe a school would be this dumb. Many times there's much more to the story.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
Does anyone have a link? This is so preposterous I find it hard to believe a school would be this dumb. Many times there's much more to the story.
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It's in the OP under link
 
Every once and a while I read a story that makes me wonder if maybe we'd all be better off if people below an IQ of 50 were just put to sleep.

Because that's how stupid you would have to be to come up with a plan like this.

edit:
And, yes, I mean retarded. Literally, you would have to be mentally deficient in some manner that makes you utterly incapable of considering the consequences of your actions to ever consider such a boneheaded move. Do they not understand that if someone under the age of 18 happened to walk by the camera not fully dressed, the administrators could end up in jail?
 
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ludahai said:
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This is insane. I hope this school district gets taught a lesson if indeed they are guilty of using these laptops to spy on students and their families.
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Why aren't they being criminally charged?

It's against the law to trespass in someones home.
Also possible child porn crimes.
 
Just goes to show there is no such thing as common decency. There are always people in all levels of society who will violate basic trust. This is sickening.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Why aren't they being criminally charged?

It's against the law to trespass in someones home.
Also possible child porn crimes.
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Right on and they should have their butts in civil court where a law suit could put the district out of business.

If the people of this town don't go after these freaking weirdos something is radically wrong.

February 11, 2010 4:00 AM PST
Feds push for tracking cell phones
Feds push for tracking cell phones | Politics and Law - CNET News


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Welcome to the Brave New World of Obamania. If you know anything about history you will know that Germany had Block Wardens, and Obama has ask for people to spy on the people next door.

When you add up all of the intrusions into your life it gets hard to just allow these WACKO RADICALS to stay in office and out of jail for usurping the Constitution.

They all took an Oath they have all violated starting with Obama down to this School Board.
 
Councilman said:
Right on and they should have their butts in civil court where a law suit could put the district out of business.

If the people of this town don't go after these freaking weirdos something is radically wrong.

February 11, 2010 4:00 AM PST
Feds push for tracking cell phones
Feds push for tracking cell phones | Politics and Law - CNET News




Welcome to the Brave New World of Obamania. If you know anything about history you will know that Germany had Block Wardens, and Obama has ask for people to spy on the people next door.

When you add up all of the intrusions into your life it gets hard to just allow these WACKO RADICALS to stay in office and out of jail for usurping the Constitution.

They all took an Oath they have all violated starting with Obama down to this School Board.
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While I agree that many of our wonderful leaders should be removed from office as fast as possible it in no way shape or form started with Obama. Not that others doing it first makes it right in any way but it just didnt start with him. They have been taking away our rights and freedoms for quite some time now.
 
They are clearly masturbation prevention devices. It's plainly obvious that the religious right is behind this conspiracy.
 
Don't mean to burst any bubbles, but it sounds like this never actually happened.

The Pennsylvania School Spycam Story Grows More Complicated - Above the Law - A Legal Tabloid - News, Gossip, and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession

Executive summary:

The school provided students with laptops. The laptops (like almost all laptops nowadays) contain software that allows owners to turn on location tracking and the web camera if the laptops are reported stolen.

One student was called into his principal's office and confronted about some inappropriate behavior off of school grounds. One of the things the school showed him as evidence was a picture from his computer's webcam showing him smoking weed.

The student's parent's flipped out and filed suit, claiming that their son's privacy had been violated and that the school had obtained the picture by turning on the camera remotely and spying on him. In actuality, here's how the school almost certainly got the photo:

I am a graduate of Harriton’s sister school, Lower Merion High School, so this story has created a lot of gossip and discussion with friends from home. First, this kid’s facebook page is up and fully accessible to the public. There are some interesting things, including interesting pictures (including some clearly taken during webcam chats on his computer), comments, and his facebook wall has several comments essentially congratulating him on the lawsuit…

We were all very surprised to see that no one, especially his attorneys, have advised him to takedown his facebook page, or at the very least put on some privacy settings. Second, while the complaint leads one to believe that the improper behavior the webcam captured was pornographic in nature, sources have been saying that he was “caught” smoking marijuana via the webcam (on that note, there appears to pictures on his facebook account showing him smoking).
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Combine this with the school's categoric denial that they ever activated the tracking feature remotely, and this sounds like it's much ado about nothing.
 
FBI investigating allegations of school using laptop cameras to spy

Can't make this sh*t up folks:

The FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that a Pennsylvania school official remotely monitored a student at home, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told CNN on Saturday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said the FBI became involved in the case after a family filed a lawsuit against the Lower Merion School District, located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The family accused an assistant principal at Harriton High School of watching their son through his laptop's webcam while he was at home and unaware he was being watched. The family also says the school official used a photo taken on a laptop as the basis for disciplining the student.
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FBI investigates allegations webcam used to monitor student - CNN.com
 
RightinNYC said:
...
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Dunno if this really proves that it didn't happen - hence why the FBI is investigating. :2wave:

Besides, I would hardly call it stunning - or significant that the accused in ANY allegations of a crime cover their asses, or try to defend themselves.
 
Travelsonic said:
Dunno if this really proves that it didn't happen - hence why the FBI is investigating. :2wave:

Besides, I would hardly call it stunning - or significant that the accused in ANY allegations of a crime cover their asses, or try to defend themselves.
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I believe it's routine for the FBI to open an investigation whenever allegations like this are made, regardless of whether they're unfounded. The reason I don't buy the story as of now is because the plaintiffs have produced absolutely no evidence to support their claims, while there's an entirely reasonable explanation on the defense's side.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Why aren't they being criminally charged?

It's against the law to trespass in someones home.
Also possible child porn crimes.
Click to expand...

Thats a great angle if they were recording any of this and it sounds like they were.

This isn't big brother. Its the Jolly Green Giant brother.
 
The school is guilty until a court full of damn good lawyers, a corrupt judge, or a nespotically appointed jury finds them innocent right?

I do not see any reasoning for a school to put a webcam into someone's home. If it is sexual voyeurism, which I doubt, then the school needs to be burned into ashes (metaphorically of course).
 
Hoplite said:
All of them. Regardless of whose fault it ACTUALLY is.
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The principal could have notified the parents that people spying on you is a condition of accepting the laptops.
 
Councilman said:
Right on and they should have their butts in civil court where a law suit could put the district out of business.

If the people of this town don't go after these freaking weirdos something is radically wrong.

February 11, 2010 4:00 AM PST
Feds push for tracking cell phones
Feds push for tracking cell phones | Politics and Law - CNET News




Welcome to the Brave New World of Obamania. If you know anything about history you will know that Germany had Block Wardens, and Obama has ask for people to spy on the people next door.

When you add up all of the intrusions into your life it gets hard to just allow these WACKO RADICALS to stay in office and out of jail for usurping the Constitution.

They all took an Oath they have all violated starting with Obama down to this School Board.
Click to expand...

Why haven't you been banned yet? You troll EVERY thread.
 
jamesrage said:
The principal could have notified the parents that people spying on you is a condition of accepting the laptops.
Click to expand...

Though that leaves me wondering, would that really matter? I doubt that a clause in a contract from a government funded entity that essentially gives up your privacy could be valid either way, but I am not a lawyer.
 
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