School Laptop Spying Case Goes to Court

[swag]

Run time: 01:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGFWPUgaYyM   Posted on YouTube: February 22, 2010 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: February 22, 2010 By DU Member: swag Views on DU: 1719

 

[ooglymoogly]

1. When does ghastly become grotesque? Kr nt

[hmorehead]

2. Just another example of paving the way to Hell. The only defense is "good intentions".

[Papa Boule]

21. They could just say they were looking for terrorist activity. n/t

[hmorehead]

22. Fortunately a minority could fall for that, after all we didn't go looking for Al Quida in Iraq.....

[tomm2thumbs]

3. kick & rec for the still video keyframe on the homepage

and the posting!

[Shining Jack]

4. K&R

Disturbing.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

5. Child porn!

They were looking at underage children naked! If I was one of the parents I would be furious at these perverts and would want to beat the shit out of them! :mad:

[DeSwiss]

6. First they reacted stridently.....

...as if their shit don't stink. And now it's finally sinking in that heads will roll, they're "regretful."

- I will follow with interest, because I want to see Big Brother getting his ass kicked!

K&R

[DUlover2909]

7. The school is the government. Bush was the government.

Bush clearly demonstrated that "the government" can intrude on privacy any time it sees fit as long as there is a need to do so according to the government.

edited for spelling.

[TheEuclideanOne]

8. Future Nostalgic moment?

One day we will look back fondly at the days like today when it is considered an illegal invasion of our privacy to watch us via our webcam without permission.

[DeSwiss]

9. Thsi pic about sums it up.....

[MrCuervo]

10. wow

someone should lose their job for sure.

[dbmk]

11. If ..

..they did what they are accused of doing, yes.

[Patiod]

12. Good high-tech explanation of what's going on

dug up by my former IT guy, who not only lives in the district, but also probably understands the IT issues better than I do

http://strydehax.blogspot.com/2010/02/spy-at-harrington-high.html

One interesting point to the case that hasn't been raised (that they have mentioned, that's confirmed in the article) is that the children are REQUIRED to use the school laptops and ONLY the school laptops for school work. They can't opt out, or opt to use their own equipment (evidently, there are sound IT reasons for this).

Tampering with any of the SW, including the camera, would have resulted in expulsion.

[Q3JR4]

14. Really? I did not hear that.

I don't get it, how did the school think they were going to get away with it?

You know I could be wrong about this but I don't think the individuals who had oversight over the program are going to be working for the school for very much longer.

At the very least. The other elephant in the room is that everybody knows that young men and women are exploring aspects of their sexuality. That being the case what did the school get pictures of? If I were the AG I'd probably be subpoenaing the administrations computers and looking into the prospect of charging the administration with the making of child pornography.

Then again I'm an asshole when it comes to protecting individual privacy rights.

Q3JR4.

[Patiod]

18. Playing devil's advocate here

Camera aside, based on the link I posted, it seems that the IT guy was just obsessive about making sure that the school district didn't get in trouble - that there was no porn or sexting on the computers - that the kids were using them for schoolwork, and that no viruses or anything else could get on the machines.

Sadly, this control-mindset extended to the whole camera thing, which is appalling.

Personally, I'm okay with the school monitoring the kids' every keystroke (if they want to screw around, they can do it on their home computers, BBs or at the library), but once that camera came on, all bets were off.

[SemperEadem]

20. one huge point should not be glossed over, though:

the laptop in question was not reported stolen, which is the basis upon which the school district is basing its actions. It was a lie to begin with and that's why this is crumbling all around their heads.

[Q3JR4]

24. They might not have been using the computers to

download porn, but how many of you laptop owners haven't walked away from it (while you're in your own bedroom) and left it connected to the internet in its own little corner? Think about what you may have done while the silent electronic eye of your built in webcam was "watching" you. Now imagine how it would be if someone was able to reach out and capture images from the webcam.

:scared:

Q3JR4.

[SemperEadem]

19. they thought they were going to get away with it because of the current climate we're living in

where people seem to have no problem giving up their rights in order to "feel" safe. It's bullshit. This is what happens when you willy-nilly give up your rights and act like a nation of 8 yr olds who need nannies.

[Patiod]

23. I agree

don't condone what they did - it's loony.

[Q3JR4]

25. They may have thought they would get away with it, but

people--in general--are uneasy about the current government overreach. Most are willing to give the government a little leeway (to promote "public safety"^*), but give them something they can actually FIGHT against. Give them a target and it's vastly different.

Q3JR4.
In my humble opinion.


*:puke:

[Q3JR4]

13. The school decides to install

spyware on the computers they give their underage students in a climate where people expect a certain amount of privacy for whatever it is they do in their own homes.

Did somebody at the school not think about what the reaction would be if anyone found out? Did they think their students would just roll over and take it?

Seriously.

I don't see how this can work out well for the school....nor do I see how they thought they were going to get away with it.

Q3JR4.

[AlbertCat]

15. Did somebody at the school not think about what the reaction would be if anyone found out?

See post # 7

Spying is OK now...doncha know...

[Xicano]

16. Good intentions my ass. Criminal intent is the only logical explanation.

Victimizing children and violating the sanctity of people's homes should result in no less than 5+2 yrs each count and to be done consecutively not concurrently. That should easily add up life in prison for the guilty parties.

That would be my opinion.

[ac0x]

17. jail

agreed. This is more than a civil issue, there are people who need to serve serious jail time for this.