February 19, 2010

Wow, can this be true? Truly a situation in which “Big Brother” comparisons are no exaggeration. It’s being reported that the Lower Merion School
District, in a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia, is being sued for spying
on its students at home, after issuing the students laptops with
webcams that could be covertly activated by school administrators for
surveillance, writes Boing Boing:

The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class
action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines.

Update: The school district admits that student laptops were shipped with software for covertly activating their webcams, but denies wrongdoing.

Update: The school district admits that student laptops were shipped with software for covertly activating their webcams, but denies wrongdoing.