School Used Laptop Webcams to View Students

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Well, if that was true, the money would then come from the people of Lower Merion and to be honest, they can afford it there. Though I would have to say that the money in reality is coming from the local and state gov't, so it's not just coming from Lower Merion, it's coming from all Pennsylvanians, so the burden is eased a bit.

 

Crucis, the fact that their official statement acknowledges all the facts of the case, yet denies wrongdoing tells me that they got a lawyer involved (at some point), and the idiot didn't see this as a problem.

I agree that fining the school is improper, though. Fine/imprison the individuals who approved/used this, instead.

 

While I don't know this to be true, I imgaine any sufficiently large institution (and I think a school district would qualify) would have lawyers on retainer. I doubt they actually had to go out and find a lawyer.

 

And to further that point, what lawyer wouldn't take a case if he is getting paid? Whether it's a lose-lose situation or not, finding an attorney to represent you is not a hard one, especially if there is dollar signs.

 

Lawyers stoop to defend serial rapists, serial killers, and infomercial producers -- you think they will hesitate to take their legal gymnastics to court and try to loophole their way out of this one? Think again -- by the end of it, with a skilled / slimy enough lawyer, the parents will end up paying the school for causing pain and suffering to the administrators!

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35479747/ns/technology_and_science-security/

Hmmm, they only activated the webcams to find missing laptops. Interesting...

 

Hmmm... Two points here. One, if the computer was stolen, there's no chance you're going to locate it just by getting a picture of the person who stole it, if it's some random theft. Two, if the computer was not actually stolen, but the student was reporting it stolen, or if it had been stolen by another student, you could identify that it either wasn't actually stolen or was stolen by a fellow student.

Still, couldn't they use some kind of tracking device instead, like a GPS locator or something?

 

Indeed. if the purpose is to allow the school to find "lost" laptops, then some sort of GPS device would seem more appropriate. And no one could claim that you were spying on them, beyond wanting to know where the school's laptop is.

In such a case, I'm not sure whether the school should have to reveal up front that there's a GPS in the laptop or not. The fear that I'd have is that if you did let the loanee know that the GPS device was in the laptop, that might simply serve to let someone with ill intent know that they should remove the GPS device.

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The problem that I have with it is that effectively the lawsuit end up suing all of the residents of the town, or as you suggest the entire state's residents. I'm sorry but that's just plain wrong.

This should be in a criminal court, and only the actual people responsible for whatever crimes may have been committed should be at risk.

 

Unfortunately, that sounds like a load of BS to me:

If the computer wasn't reported stolen, why did they turn on the camera? And what 'inappropriate' action did they find him doing that they could identify from a single still photo of the computer user? This stuff is already on record, their record, yet they almost seem to be denying it. Either way, parents should have been informed.

 

I'm not sure you'd have to tell them that there was a GPS device in the laptop either. That said, I think you'd be in a lot less legal trouble by not telling a student there was a GPS device than you would be by not telling the student that the webcam could be operated covertly and remotely to take pictures of them. I'm assuming they didn't tell them this, as the "fix" in the case of taking a picture is a heck of a lot easier than removing the GPS device. You could foil their attempts by using a piece of duct tape...