School Used Student Webcams to Spy on Them
Ever have the feeling that you're being watched? With built-in webcams now bring standard on most laptops, sitting there, staring straight at you opposite the LCD screen, one might feel paranoid about voyeurs.
Such fears may not be completely irrational, however, as a student is suing his school in Philadelphia for remotely activating his webcam, reported Boing Boing. The remote activation of his webcam was exposed when student Blake J. Robbins was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" by the Vice Principal, who provided a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.
Gizmodo supposedly heard from some of the students involved in the class action suit. One said that his 2008 MacBook's camera light would turn on at random.
Frequently, the green lights next to our iSight webcams will turn on. The school district claims that this is just a glitch. We are all doubting this now.
Another student added:
I questioned the IT guy about why it was happening he said that it was because people logged out when an application using the camera was on, he also stated that they could in fact go and look through your webcam it would just violate the fifth [amendment] and that's why they didn't.
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if that was me i would just put a piece of tap over the camera
fifth ammendment .... Amendment
Looks like someone needs to go back to school and pay more attention in English and Government classes.
What right does a Vice P. have to discipline someone for something that they did in THEIR OWN HOME? Not to mention all the privacy laws that are being broken. The people responsible for this better get jailed for a long time. Throw in child porn charges while you're at it 'cause for all we know, they were watching them while they changed in their rooms.
Get a Desktop. Unplug your webcam unless you're using it. Problem solved.
you would think that teachers would understand the constitution
I'm confused. Did this kid take a school laptop home? And then the school activated the webcam while this kid was at home? If so, that's insane.
Even if the kid was at school when the school turned on the webcam it's still crazy.
This is redonkulous. I'm curious as to what the kid did. At any rate, someone is probably going to do some time.
It does not matter what the student does in his spare time that isn't the point would you parents be comfortable with your employers spying on you during your intimate time no is your answer. Schools need to learn what goes on at home and on the street stays there till the student or parent makes the decision to make it so.
I understand the purpose of surveillance software on school computers. Ever been in a school computer lab? Kids are usually not on-task (playing Flash games, or what-have-you).
That being said, there is no need for software that remotely accesses the audio/visual equipment in the computer and no need for the software to be used out of school. I wholly support the plaintiff in this case and I hope it sets a precedent for schools everywhere.
Marcus, could you do a follow-up whenever this gets settled? Thanks.
Whatever happened to good ol' firewalls and whitelists?
You ask me, there's a pedo or two working at that school. You know it's true.
If that pisses you off, checkout what the FBI does with cellphones:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-150467.html
PS: That also applies to the camera on your phone.
fifth ammendment .... AmendmentLooks like someone needs to go back to school and pay more attention in English and Government classes.
People who correct spelling errors, while using grammatical errors, make me want to kick baby Jesus in the face!
Oh, and if anyone is interested/too lazy to go to the original article, here's a PDF of the case:
http://craphound.com/robbins17.pdf
Marcus, could you do a follow-up whenever this gets settled? Thanks.
You bet. I'm a little skeptical of this whole situation, so I'll definitely keep tabs on it.
Isn't the Fifth Amendment related to the due process of the law?
the school has complete right to observe student actions in school, however it doesn't make any sense for the school to moniter things that happen outside school and outside the computer. it violates the privacy of the students and is unacceptable.
damn one step closer to cyberdyne...
Oh shit! No more webcam sex for students living in dorms D:
Unplug the webcam?
At the people saying unplug the webcam. Telling them to unplug the webcam is like telling somebody they should've wore a vest before they got shot.
The school had no authority or reason for spying on this kid at home. I really hope criminal charges are pressed as there is no telling what else they were watching.
This neat little tool I just found on the internet, called Google, gave me this.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data [...] endment05/
I'm stunned that more people haven't encountered this magical thing. I bet it would save countless posts on forums if more people knew what it was and how to use it.
ok, so I go to this school, and there are a few things to be cleared up.
firstly, every student was given a MacBook by the school to take home and use for the whole year. These MacBooks however have the capability of being remotely accessed by the school at any time, a feature originally intended to be used in case the computer was lost. The problem is, someone has apparently been caught doing something illegal while at home through this camera, and thus the lawsuit began.
The principal made a statement today during school saying the school district would never use the camera to spy on kids and that the whole situation was being blown out of proportion.
in addition, here is the school's response
http://bit.ly/dAGf0t
that still doesn't explain why they were invading his privacy in the first place.
To my knowledge, you can't submit evidence to the court if it was obtained illegally.
What if it was another student who was accessing the cameras? That could explain the districts denial.
I still smell a rat though, as schools are increasingly trying to control students lives outside of school.
I think you are overreacting. The laptop was and remains the school's property, not the student's. They have a right to monitor their property. The fact that this student was at home is a moot point. GEt over it.
Apparently the laptop was never paid for and was therefore believe to be stolen and therefore they turned on the camera to see who was using it.
Get a Desktop. Unplug your webcam unless you're using it. Problem solved.
Are you that naive?
This is a clear violation of privacy. I do hope they get their @sses sued to the ground.
This is a 4th Amendment issue. Come on people, learn the freaking Constitution. This is a blatant violation of privacy.
"With built-in webcams now bring standard on most laptops,"
How do you unplug a cam built into a laptop?
On another note, another incomplete story with poor spelling and grammar makes it onto Tom's. I figured maybe this time I'd click on a link and get something interesting to read. I guess not. Good-bye Tom's.
I think you are overreacting. The laptop was and remains the school's property, not the student's. They have a right to monitor their property. The fact that this student was at home is a moot point. GEt over it.
Well, you've got one train of thought on the right track... but, as the engineer, you looked down during a crucial Y-split in the track and headed 1/5 of the way across the country in the wrong direction. Yes, it is school property. Yes, they should have full access to monitor it at any and all times (ie remote desktop software, or whatever method they choose to monitor the ON-COMPUTER activity). They should NOT have access to the webcam to see what PEOPLE (who they do not own) are doing OUTSIDE of the computer. The article doesn't specify what the student was caught doing, but it did mention that the webcam was used in determining the "improper activity" he was doing.