A high school in Pennsylvania recently issued laptops to its students. This was to ensure that every student had an opportunity to access school resources after school is out. However, one student was disciplined by an assistant principal at the school for "improper behavior" that took place while he was at home. At the time, the assistant principal cited a picture that was taken of the student by the webcam on the laptop.
When the school issued the laptops, they were aware that they had the ability to view and capture images using the webcam by remotely accessing and activating the webcam. They can do this whenever the students' laptop is on. Parents and students, however, were not notified that the school has the capability to do such things when being issued the laptop.
The angry parents of the student who was disciplined for "improper behavior" are filing a class-action lawsuit against the district.
The article can be found here: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/school-under-fire-for-spying-on-kid-via-webcam-at-home.ars
When the school issued the laptops, they were aware that they had the ability to view and capture images using the webcam by remotely accessing and activating the webcam. They can do this whenever the students' laptop is on. Parents and students, however, were not notified that the school has the capability to do such things when being issued the laptop.
The angry parents of the student who was disciplined for "improper behavior" are filing a class-action lawsuit against the district.
The article can be found here: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/school-under-fire-for-spying-on-kid-via-webcam-at-home.ars
If this story is true, this could be a huge invation of this students privacy. There is no reason why the school should be spying on students when they are at home. If i found out this was going on with my computer i would be outraged.