(When Frontline did a story last month about technology and one portion was on laptops in school and about how teachers monitor what students are doing in the class, we saw this coming. I personally laughed the whole fucking way through reading this story. It actually broke a few days ago, but at that point there was no response from the school so we sat on it until they slithered out a statement. Fucking hilarious.)
PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania school district accused of secretly switching on laptop computer webcams inside students' homes is under investigation by federal authorities, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.
The FBI will look into whether any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws were violated by Lower Merion School District officials, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation, told the AP on Friday.
Days after a student filed suit over the practice, Lower Merion officials acknowledged Friday that they remotely activated webcams 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing student laptops. They insist they never did so to spy on students, as the student's family claimed in the federal lawsuit.
Families were not informed of the possibility the webcams might be activated in their homes without their permission in the paperwork students sign when they get the computers, district spokesman Doug Young said.
"It's clear what was in place was insufficient, and that's unacceptable," Young said.
The district has suspended the practice amid the lawsuit and the accompanying uproar from students, the community and privacy advocates. District officials hired outside counsel to review the past webcam activations and advise the district on related issues, Young said.
Remote-activation software can be used to capture keystrokes, send commands over the Internet or turn computers into listening devices by turning on built-in microphones. People often use it for legitimate purposes — to access computers from remote locations, for example. But hackers can use it to steal passwords and spouses to track the whereabouts of partners or lovers.
The Pennsylvania case shows how even well-intentioned plans can go awry if officials fail to understand the technology and its potential consequences, privacy experts said. Compromising images from inside a student's bedroom could fall into the hands of rogue school staff or otherwise be spread across the Internet, they said.
"What about the (potential) abuse of power from higher ups, trying to find out more information about the head of the PTA?" wondered Ari Schwartz, vice president at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "If you don't think about the privacy and security consequences of using this kind of technology, you run into problems."
The FBI opened its investigation after news of the suit broke on Thursday, the law-enforcement official said. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman may also investigate, she said Friday.
Lower Merion, an affluent district in Philadelphia's suburbs, issues Apple laptops to all 2,300 students at its two high schools. Only two employees in the technology department were authorized to activate the cameras — and only to locate missing laptops, Young said. The remote activations captured images but never recorded sound, he said.
No one had complained before Harriton High School student Blake Robbins and his parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, filed their lawsuit Tuesday, he said.
According to the suit, Harriton vice principal Lindy Matsko told Blake on Nov. 11 that the school thought he was "engaged in improper behavior in his home." She allegedly cited as evidence a photograph "embedded" in his school-issued laptop.
The suit does not say if the boy's laptop had been reported stolen, and Young said the litigation prevents him from disclosing that fact. He said the district never violated its policy of only using the remote-activation software to find missing laptops. "Infer what you want," Young said.
The suit accuses the school of turning on Blake's webcam while the computer was inside his Penn Valley home, allegedly violating wiretap laws and his right to privacy.
Blake Robbins told KYW-TV on Friday that a school official described him in his room and mistook a piece of candy for a pill.
"She described what I was doing," he said. "She said she thought I had pills and said she thought that I was selling drugs."
Robbins said he was holding a Mike and Ike candy, not pills.
Holly Robbins said a school official told her that she had a picture of Blake holding up what she thought were pills.
"It was an invasion of privacy; it was like we had a Peeping Tom in our house," Holly Robbins told WPVI-TV. "I send my son to school to learn, not to be spied on."
Neither the family nor their lawyer, Mark Haltzman, returned calls from The Associated Press for comments this week.
The remote activations helped the district locate 28 of the 42 missing computers, Young said. He could not immediately say whether the technology staff was authorized to share the images with Matsko or other officials.
Either way, the potential for abuse is nearly limitless, especially because many teens keep their computers in their bedrooms, experts said.
"This is an age where kids explore their sexuality, so there's a lot of that going on in the room," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is not involved in the Robbins case. "This is fodder for child porn."
(Here's how we believe the exchange went between Vice Principal Lindy Matsko and the student Blake Robbins.)
Lindy Matsko: Have a seat Blake. Can you explain what these are? (places down photos)
Blake Robbins:...what the fuck...is, is that me? in my room?? Where did you get this?! Are you spying on me from my window?!?
LM: Yes that is you Blake. In your room. We monitor students laptops from time to time to check if they are missing and we spotted you at home with some red pills of some kind.
BR: Woah woah, you monitor our laptops?! You mean you people are watching us all the time at home?! What are you, pedos?!
LM: Don't change the subject! Are those pills?! Are you a drug dealer?!
BR: *whew* Ok lemme say three things. One, No I am not a drug dealer because, Two, THOSE are mike and ikes candy, and Three, I'm going to SUE THE EVER LOVING MOTHER FUCKING SHIT OUT OF ALL OF YOU! Do you have any idea the privacy and invasion implications this has?? The kind of laws you're breaking??
LM: They are school property laptops, we can do what we like.
BR: OK you say that to the judge and see if he doesn't laugh his ass off.
LM: Now listen young man
BR: NO YOU LISTEN. I'm going to go call my mom now, who is then going to call her lawyer, the local news stations, and the FBI and by the time this is all over, you'll be lucky if they let you inept perverted fuckers stay on as crossing guards. PEACE. *storms out*
(At least, that's how we HOPE it happened. ^_^
Thank you for joining us for another edition of VPAR Theater. Tune in next blog when we act out how the Supreme Court came to its decision in the corporate funding of elections case. Here's a hint. Scalia eats the whole time and Clarence Thomas locks himself in the bathroom. Goodnight. ~O_^ )
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