∞ Prosecutors may investigate school's use of Web cam spying

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Allegations that school officials at Harriton High School used a MacBook Web cam to take a picture of a student at home reached the local prosecutors.

Montgomery County District Attorney, Risa Vetri Ferman, said on Friday afternoon that they are looking into the allegations to see if a criminal investigation is warranted. Ferman said her office learned of the incident through news reports on Thursday.

News of the lawsuit brought by parents of a student at the high school broke late Thursday. The suit claimed officials used a school-issued MacBook to spy on a student.

Apparently, the school’s assistant principal confronted a boy suspected of “improper behavior” and showed him a picture the school had taken by remotely activating the computer’s Web cam.

The school responded late Thursday denying it using the technology as described in the lawsuit.

However, the school on Friday morning said it ordered the security tracking program stopped. The school also ordered a thorough review of the existing policies for student laptop use; a review of security procedures to help safeguard the protection of privacy, including a review of the instances in which the security software was activated; and a review of any other technology areas in which the intersection of privacy and security may come into play.


  • James

    "We didn't do it. And we stopped doing it now. And we are reviewing if anyone did it."

    Seems a little inconsistent but what hell…

  • http://www.facebook.com/hdprice Howard Price

    Leave the parenting to the parents. What business is it of the school what the kid does at home? Good grief!

  • Lucas

    so we have a school using some kind of remote desktop or lojack to keep an eye on the school issued computers. okay no problem there.
    but now they have flipped on cams at the risk of creating a little child porn of Johnny Teenager changing clothes and found some kid smoking pot, jerking off or whatever. and they want to call him on violating school rules or some such and expell him.

    but I'm guessing that he was not told that such spying would be happening so wouldn't that make the 'search' illegal. and the photo tainted goods. would not unadvised remote web cam activation be a video form of an illegal wiretap

  • Louis

    First rule! Don't trust anyone!!! There are sickos every where! Its no surprise that the faculty wanted to see some kids in there bedrooms!!!! Sickos!!!!! Im beyond mad about this! They are lucky my daughter wasn't one of these kids violated!!!!!!