School Spying Case In Pennsylvania

February 22, 2010 - 6:30 AM | by: Laura Ingle

The school webcam spy case continues to spark questions about student security and school administrators' rights in Philadelphia. Last week, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against the Lower Merion School District, its board of directors and the superintendent for allegedly violating the privacy of a 15-year-old student at Harriton High School by remotely activating the webcam inside a school-issued laptop computer. Now, the FBI has reportedly opened an investigation into the case to see if there were any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws that were violated.

Blake Robbins and his mother Paige

School Spy Alleged Victim

Blake Robbins and his 18-year-old sister both attend Harriton High School and were among the 2,300 students in the district to receive the Apple laptops. All students and their parents had to sign a "memorandum of understanding" to take the laptops home with wording that explained the rules and regulations that came along with the computers. The paperwork did not include the disclosure that the school district had the ability to remotely activate the embedded webcams at any time, without student's permission.

Last November, Blake Robbins was called to the office by the vice principal to talk about what she called his "improper behavior" at home. Vice Principal Lindy Matsko allegedly cited as evidence a photograph taken with the computer's webcam that had been activated in Blake's bedroom. Robbins claims that the Matsko accused him of selling drugs when she saw him holding up what she believed to be pills. The 15-year-old says he was simply holding his favorite candy, "Mike And Ikes," which are small oblong, chewy jelly beans.

Mother of Blake Robbins shows what her son's favorite candy looks like

Mother of Blake Robbins shows what her son

Blake's mother Holly backs up her son's claim that he is constantly eating the candy, and believes that he was not selling drugs. She and her husband Mike are extremely concerned that the school district turned on their son's webcam and feel it was a gross invasion of privacy inside their home. The mother of two says it felt like discovering a Peeping Tom in their house.

School district officials say the only time they ever turn on the webcams is when one of the school-issued laptops have been reported lost, stolen or missing, so that they can try to track them down. They concede that the wording in the laptop policy was not sufficient, and did not explain the security feature, but insist that they never spied on students. Lower Merion officials say that they turned the cameras on 42 times in the past 14 months, which helped them recover 28 missing laptops.

"It is not legal for anybody, the government, the police, or the school district, without some sort of warrant or some kind of invitation to come into your home and record what you are doing, or what you are saying," said Mark Haltzman, the Robbins' attorney.

The LMSD issued a statement Friday to parents and students, stating that the webcams have been deactivated while a thorough review of the case -- and policy -- moves forward.

Reaction among students is mixed. Some students tell Fox News that they want to learn more facts before casting judgment on their vice principal and other school administrators. Others say they will only use their computers with a piece of tape over the camera's eye. With the alleged incident happening in November of last year, Victoria Zuzelo, vice president of the student council at Harriton High, says she wants to know why it took so long for all of this to come out

Views: 74

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a photo
32 minutes ago
Burbia posted a video

The lIIumlnatl Stallions: MethyIene Bluecifer & Mind-Control Horses [ FULL DOCUMENTARY ]

🐴🦄🐸 Get the NEW "lIIumlnatl Animal Coloring Book!" 🐴🦄🐸NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON - CLICK HERE: https://amzn.to/3SYgAkC🔑 Get MORE Access to the Secret Vid...
1 hour ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Memorial Weekend Getaway Horror Story
"Less Prone thanks for your support Buddy! "
15 hours ago
Doc Vega replied to cheeki kea's discussion Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Gave Many Interviews with Mainstream Media
"cheeki kea, I really appreciate the reporting of Sky News. I think they've done a great…"
16 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

When

 Sad blue eyed poet rehearses his craftJust took a salvo in the compartment aftHis chances of…See More
16 hours ago
cheeki kea replied to cheeki kea's discussion Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Gave Many Interviews with Mainstream Media
"You're damn right there Doc V. but we may never know exactly where all the funding came from…"
20 hours ago
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Me-Again

"Oh Look a new version of Megan, can't say the old version looked to flash either. Seems like…"
yesterday
Doc Vega replied to cheeki kea's discussion Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Gave Many Interviews with Mainstream Media
"This asshole had an incredible number of overseas connections and incoming money from unnamed…"
Wednesday
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
Wednesday
cheeki kea replied to cheeki kea's discussion Tartaria
"It's been interesting reading the comments from the Hungarian Tartaria fans on social media…"
Tuesday
Burbia's blog post was featured

James Comey appears to call for the assassination of President Trump

I'm sure these are the kind of shells Comey is implying here. …See More
Tuesday
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Tuesday
cheeki kea's 2 blog posts were featured
Tuesday
Doc Vega's 5 blog posts were featured
Tuesday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Memorial Weekend Getaway Horror Story
"A nice story"
Tuesday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Memorial Weekend Getaway Horror Story
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Memorial Weekend Getaway Horror Story

The wife and I had been trying to find some vacation time together for weeks when finally Memorial…See More
Monday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Sunday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Sunday
tjdavis posted a video
May 24

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted