According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday, officials of the Lower Merion School District in Suburban Philadelphia allegedly used webcams to spy on students, sometimes even when they were at home. The cover was blown when the alleged idiot of the story, Lindy Matsko, an assistant principal at Harriton High School, told a student that “school officials thought he had engaged in improper behavior at home.”
The plaintiffs learned of the alleged invasion of privacy when Matsko cited as evidence a photograph embeded in the student’s personal laptop, which had been issued by the school district.
Matsko later confirmed to [the student’s father] that the school had the ability to activate the webcams remotely, according to the suit, which was filed Tuesday and which seeks class-action status.
“The affluent district prides itself on its technology initiatives, which include giving Apple laptops to each of the approximately 2,300 students at its two high schools.”
Hey rich people, I want problems like yours.
Via Yahoo and a whole bunch of places on the internet now
Bet this would never happen with a PC…
This gives me an idea.
@1: Hmmm…
Grant, do you have an Apple? My idea hinges on that important detail.
you can totally watch my sixteen-year old son masturbate in his bedroom for the low low price of a fine apple product.
So your take on this rather creepy invasion of privacy is to point out that this district has resources?
I wouldn’t even take a free Apple laptop, least of which one that could spy on me.
There are lots of allegations being thrown around, but very few hard facts. Excuse me if I withhold judgment until there’s a bit more to this story.
If it’s indeed true, then they ought to throw the book at them.
Throw the MacBook at them, you mean.
@7: Get out.
NOW.
Pervs.
The Shoreline School district provides macbooks for 6th grade and up… and that place is a dump. I don’t think that ‘only rich people’ are subject to this potential problem.
While being spied on at home with the free MacBook your school gave you is indeed a problem likely only visited upon the rich, the impulse to spy on students at home comes from the same place as strip searching a preteen to look for Advil or handcuffing a kindergartner for being unruly. And that impulse–and its unpleasant consequences–are visited upon the non-rich far more frequently.
Spying on them in their bedrooms is what those damn kids deserve for having the gall to be accidentally born to rich folks.
I think everyone needs to wait to comment on satirical articles until they have been home from work for at least an hour and have tied a couple on. It’s just a little stuffy in here, don’t you think?
“school officials thought he had engaged in improper behavior at home.”
That’s for the parents to decide. And if the parents want to know they will have a nanny cam in the house.
“in violation of the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Fourth Amendment, the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, and Pennsylvania common law.”
Will the students get extra credit if they write a report on this?
Know your rights or they’ll go away.
Interesting that some non-affluent schools have similar programs and potential for such …. Do you not watch Frontline?!
I would argue that less-affluent students might be more at risk for privacy violations than your demonized rich people with laptops.
How is it possible that any sane teacher or administrator could think this was in any way a good idea?
@10: Shoreline is a dump? It’s not Bellevue, but it’s a long way from a dump. You need to go experience some poverty.
“Hey rich people, I want problems like yours.”
hate to break this to you, dude, but you, having the ability to have the job you do, with at least SOME education (maybe even college, but it’s hard to tell), while living in Seattle doesn’t exactly make you impoverished.
only rich people can afford to live in a school district where some of the high schoolers are given laptops? you have not experienced much in your life yet outside of your comfy little shell, have you?
how many computers have been given by Microsoft to schools in Washington, again? right.
@8, did I cross a line there? Nice kitty. Pat, pat.
@ “tom tom club exposer” Please, this is an affluent suburb in Philly that provides every one of their high school students with a up-to-date Macbook, not some charity move by the Gates foundation or Google’s equivalent. If you can afford to live in such a district, you’re rich. I may not be impoverished (not that I said I was), but I certainly wouldn’t fall into the plaintiff’s tax bracket.
@19: I was waiting for the first bad pun, and unfortunately I unloaded on you! Gotta take your blows sometime, Fnarfy.
Not as terrible as your handle, Maverick Biceps. Sorry. Had to say it.
civil rights belong to rich folks and poor folks and black folks and white folks and apple lovin’ folks and pc lovin folks. Thats kind of the cool thing about them. Everyone (even those icky undesirable ones) are entitled to them. This behavoir, if it is true, is despicable and illegal. Rich has nothing to do with it.
Next problem:
Students sitting on iTabs, making copies of their rear ends for Flickr.
@24: Nice!
@21, I can take it. In fact, I like it. Go ahead, hit me. Make me rip my stockings.
What about the poor kids there on scholarship, don’t they count too?
Its a public high school, Will.
This needs to become a weekly column.
I’m sure an enterprising student can find a picture that’s been taken of them nude or partly undressed, getting ready for bed or whatever. Boom: Lindy Matsko is a child pornographer.
we’re all missing the really important details! For instance, what, exactly, was this “inappropriate behavior”?
@11,
Eloquently put, and I totally agree.
Also, as much as it’s unconstitutional, a felony, etc., I have to say that from what I know of Lower Merion (playing them in state basketball championships in high school), they’re pretentious assholes with way too much money.
These guys should still get put away for a long time, though.
would they really tip their hand if there was any chance of underage porn allegations against the school? I’m guessing he was just sneaking a beer or a smoke.
If your parents are rich, and live in certain areas, you deserve to be spied upon with your school-issued laptop! Bwaaaahahahahahah.
@18: It says that the school gives each student a laptop, not that the laptops are given by the company to the schools. Very big difference there.
Interesting that this is on SLOG today. It seems all the most respectable news outlets are on Apple lately. I hope the EFF rips them to pieces.
Whatever, even if they are smug rich pricks, first world white people problems, etc., how could you not find this creepy and unacceptable? Someone peering in on kids’ personal sex lives?
@36 lol.
And people said I was paranoid for putting electrical tape over the lens of my Macbook…
Can’t even whack off in private with PervCam watching.
Ahhh man, these folks have to learn the successes of unsupervised kids that make our ghettos such splendid places!
@17 I live in the CD and still think Shoreline is a dump.
@32: Exactly what I was thinking. That district is probably purging harddrives and trying to cover their @sses so hard right now. They should call the FBI.