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Report Denies Webcam Spying Charges, Slams School for Disregarding Privacy

by Terrence O'Brien on May 5, 2010 at 09:55 AM

webcam spyingThe legal haranguing over the Lower Merion School District's use of computer tracking software may be winding down. And, while the school administrators don't escape unscathed, a report has found no evidence of a concerted effort to "spy" on students. The report, commissioned by attorneys for the district, does find serious flaws with the school district's privacy policies, and even hammers administrators for failing to enforce even the limited protections that were instituted.

The report also reveals some new details, some of which contradict the original story, about what triggered both the lawsuit and the barrage of bad press concerning administrators. It turns out that the laptop from which the screen shots and webcam photos were taken was a loaner, given to Blake Robbins (the student whose parents filed the lawsuit against the district) while his regular school-issued one was being repaired. The school activated the laptop's tracking features in an attempt to retrieve it, due to outstanding insurance fees. But, instead of shutting down the tracking service upon confirming the laptop was in the student's possession, the technicians left the software running for 15 days.

One of the technicians running the tracking system spotted something in a chat on Robbins's computer while poring over screen shots. The image suggested that the student might be selling drugs, and, after some deliberation, the issue was brought to the attention of school officials. They initially declined to act, because it concerned matters off school grounds. Though the school insists that no disciplinary action was taken, Vice Principal, Lindy Matsko brought the image to the attention of Robbins and his parents, an act that could be interpreted as such. The parents, understandably uncomfortable about what appeared to be a complete disregard for student privacy on the part of the school, filed a suit against the district.

Between 2008 and early 2010 (when the LANrev TheftTrack system was ultimately shut down), the screen capture and photo-taking features were activated 76 times. But, because of a failure to enforce (and a general ignorance of) activation and deactivation policies, those 76 incidents produced 30,564 webcam photos and 27,428 screenshots. The report says the massive collection of images was not part of a conspiracy to spy on students, but rather the result of "the district's failure to implement policies, procedures and record-keeping requirements, and the overzealous and questionable use of technology ... without any apparent regard for privacy considerations."

The case is still not closed; the matter of financial damages has yet to be resolved, and we wouldn't be surprised if at least a few people were to lose their jobs over this debacle. The district's report vindicates, to an extent, the Robbins's claim that the district misused the tracking features, while the school is cleared of charges that it was overstepping its bounds by secretly monitoring student activities outside of school.

There's no denying the usefulness (and arguably the necessity) of tracking features on school-issued laptops. Unfortunately, the district learned the hard way that it's very easy, even unintentionally, to violate basic expectations of privacy if the powers of technology are not managed vigilantly. [From: CBS News]

Tags: blake robbins, BlakeRobbins, controversy, lawsuit, Lower Merion, Lower Merion School District, LowerMerion, LowerMerionSchoolDistrict, privacy, school, spying, top, webcam

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