FBI investigates allegations webcam used to monitor student

FBI investigates allegations webcam used to monitor student

www.cnn.com

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.

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
High School Sued For Spying On Students With Laptop Cameras

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.

In a statement issued late Friday, District Superintendent Christopher McGinley rejected the allegations.

"At no time did any high school administrator have the ability or actually access the security-tracking software," he said. "We believe that the administrator at Harriton has been unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked in connection with her attempts to be supportive of a student and his family. The district never did and never would use such tactics as a basis for disciplinary action."

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

So, this is the follow up story to High School Sued For Spying On Students With Laptop Cameras in which a class-action lawsuit has been levied against the school district for remotely accessing a web camera to take a still-shot of a student, in his home, and then using that photo for disciplinary actions. In addition to this lawsuit, the FBI has now opened an investigation.

According to the school, the families who were issued these laptops did sign a consent form, but the school stopped short of fully disclosing the security feature.

The school now says "that was a mistake."







[edit on 20-2-2010 by LadySkadi]

And here is yet another article on it:

Pa. school official defended in webcam spy case
apnews.myway.com...

It explains what the student was thought to be doing wrong that triggered this whole fiasco.

This case is a bit confusing, given the details released.

According to the school, the web-cams were only turned on in the case of missing or stolen equipment.

Which leaves the reader to believe that this student was in possession of a missing or stolen laptop.

However, the school admits to taking a picture of the student (in his home) with candy that [the school] presumed to be drugs...

There's a third case where they would use it..to track a 'loaner' that was off campus, which was apparently against regulations, except that it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why would they prohibit loaners from going off campus?

reply to post by LadySkadi


Yeah thats a pretty huge mistake! I think somebody did not disclouse fully on purpose, because who in their right minds would have let those computers into their homes knowing that they could be spied on by the school. Thanks for the follow up thread.

Always cover your inbuilt webcam with black tape when not in use... I'd go one step ahead and slap tinfoil under the tape...

im having a hard time understanding what went on. The superintendent is saying that the web cams arent activated to discipline students. but then why did the assistant principal have a photo of this student "behaving improperly" and use it for disciplinary purposes? and not once have they said that *this* particular student was in possession of a stolen/lost/missing laptop, just that that's the reason for the ability to access the cameras. if this isnt supposed to be used to discipline students, then why was it used to discipline a student. the story coming from the school board just doesnt add up.

You are right. The statements from the school don't add up.

The only thing that does seem to clarify a point is that the school admits to not fully disclosing the security features to the students/parents when they were issued.

Hence the class-action lawsuit.

The FBI investigation is looking into "possible" illegal wire-tapping, among other things. It is yet to be determined if a criminal case will also be part of the school's trouble.

As for the "action" that this student was photographed doing in his home and why the school disciplined him for that... Unexplainable and total lack of judgment (I guess) but perhaps in the long run, a lucky break???

reply to post by LadySkadi


I have to say this story is just creepy as Hell and the fact that this happened is wrong.

I could care less about the school or their rights because students should not have laptops.

Sorry, this is odd, to say the least, because that the school is monitoring a child, while at home is odd, whether the computer is their property, or not, this is a clear violation of privacy in the parents of this child's home, and as well just creepy.

Is this some new system where the school allowed a child to borrow the computer?

The details of this story are crap but then again it is C.N.N., Canned News Network.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas
Freaky, no?

The laptops were school property. The school had enough to loan to 1800 students as part of their education program.

Not an unheard of situation, many school districts do this, but in this case the school bought laptops and installed security software to allow them to remotely activate the web cam, without fully releasing this information to the parents.

I wonder how many other districts have the capability to do something similar?





[edit on 21-2-2010 by LadySkadi]

Originally posted by LadySkadi
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

Freaky, no?

The laptops were school property. The school had enough to loan to 1800 students as part of their education program.

Not an unheard of situation, many school districts do this, but in this case the school bought laptops and installed security software to allow them to remotely activate the web cam, without fully releasing this information to the parents.

I wonder how many other districts have the capability to do something similar?

[edit on 21-2-2010 by LadySkadi]

I have zero clue how it works now because as I grew up we had computer labs.

There was no taking computers home and the only things you took home were books.

Or notes to your parents.

That the parents were not told of the capabilities of the computers is somewhat odd.

I doubt they were not told because it usually comes down to an instruction manual.

A clear set of rules is usually provided for most things and parents do not pay attention.

The Public School system was a joke back when I was in school.

I will be home schooling any children I have when the time comes.

There will be no issues like the current crap that happens because my children will be safe.

Sounds to me like a few of the faculty had 2 too many at happy hour and decided to go to the office and "see what they can see".. Upon seeing a suspicious "pill", they convinced themselves they were witnessing the drug crime of the century, maybe even a (shutter) drug dealing ring affiliated with terrorism... just like on TV.

Being the brown shirt obedient government drug warrior mules they are, action on this nefarious activity was not just the lawful war on drugs thing to do, but a 'moral' issue.. "what about the children!?".

If accurate, I hope those war on drugs paranoid digital peeping tom school employees accidentally saw 2 minors playing doctor and get convicted of child porn.. forced to register as sex offenders.

Deleted...Link

[edit on 21-2-2010 by Kandinsky]

US Attorney's Office, FBI to look into school district's use of webcams to spy on students (1)

Normally, the US Attorney's Office and the FBI do not announce publicly when they are launching an investigation. However, an exception is made when the incident to be investigated has already received substantial publicity, or where the public needs to be reassured that the FBI is investigating a particular incident.

As has been widely reported, the Lower Merion Township School District issued laptops to its students which had webcams that would activate when a computer was reported stolen. The school district has stated that the program to activate cameras had only been used 42 times previously.

The district's use of the program became public when Blake Robbins, a student at Harriton High filed a federal lawsuit alleging that his constitutional right to privacy had been violated by the school district. Robbins had been reprimanded by a school assistant principal for images which purportedly showed him engaging in illicit behavior at home.

According to the press release, the investigation will look to see if any crime has been committed. Neither organization will again comment publicly on the incident until the investigation is complete.