High school uses notebook webcams to spy on students

Eeven if it is against the law, I think that if a notebook is SCHOOL ISSUED, then even if the student is at home, administrators should be allowed to access anything on the machine for appropriate reasons. I also believe if the misbehavior is being conducted with the assistance of the school issued machine, then the school district should not be at fault. For example, if he was going to inappropriate sites on the school machine, even if he is at home then the camera should be allowed to be used for user verification. However if set up properly the school firewall should still filter his traffic. Also if the student was misbehaving and using the notebook to record the activity, then the student should be at fault. If however, the student's activity had nothing to do with said notebook, and the camera was activated by an administartor, then the activity should not be reported. Because then the camera is being used like a surveillance camera, which I certainly disagree with.

wow thats not nice

i don't care how you dress it up, remotely activating a camera on a students laptop without notification is spying and no doubt legally dubious.

yea i wouldnt want someone to activate my camera while im doing something private :S

Hmmm...not sure I entirely agree with your argument mattfrompa. Agreed that if you're issued a school laptop, then usage should be certainly restricted to school-type activities and work. But that's easily done with filters and permission settings.

But to just randomly turn on the web camera without the user's knowledge, scan the room and see what's going on? That ain't right... They could remote in and see what apps are currently being used if they are concerned with usage. Lighting up the camera puts their monitoring into a whole different category.

this is a bunch of bull - while he may have gotten off the hot seat with some folks -- how many in the IT industry thinks this a bunch of hooey?

What good does just taking snapshot of the "theif" do - that isn't going to tell you WHERE the notebook is - just who happens to be in front of it at the present time.

and if the notebook was indeed stolen - why would the IT dept have anything to do with the investigation and arrest of the perpetrator? I think that would be Law enforcement.


We purchased tracking/theft on some of our notebooks - but it has nothing to do with the webcam.

They might pull the wool over someones eyes, but not mine.

Someone needs to get this board and "nail" them to the wall

You've got to be kidding me mattfrompa! Schools are now above the law??? WHAT?????
The fact that school administrator even has the ability to "spy" on a student outside of school property for whatever reason is totally out of bounds. Way outta bounds! Like, way out of the Privacy Act of 1974- bounds. This is unlawful search and seizure and violates the right to privacy per-se.

Let me try and follow your logic here matformpa: The school issues the laptop, the student a minor by the way, uses the laptop at his home, for what is deemed by some public school "official" as inappropriate behavior (whatever that means) and the kid is suspended. Hell the FBI can't even do this legally without a warrant unless it falls under the the DOJ exceptions which it does not. When the school gives you a laptop that was purchased by the way with our tax dollars, the really aren't giving you anything, more like leasing it to you for nothing. You sign an agreement and send in an insurance deposit -at least that is how it is done with my sons program. No camera program to spy on my kid thank you. In or outta of school I am the parent and that is where the buck stops. This is wrong, wrong, wrong to have the ability to spy on a kid, my kid maybe- in my home, after school. Looks like we will be keeping the lap top in the closet when it is home from school.

mattfrompa probably works for the school, lol.

Hmmm... a simple piece of tape over the camera should do just fine. Why do people make such issues out things that have a simple solution (privacy issues being another matter altogether).

whether or not im a student or anyone else for that matter (parents might be looking at the notebook to check on their students work) I should not have to "tape" over a device that has completely ligitimate (and legal) uses to be sure I'm not being spied on.

I hope this little gaff costs the school system a fortune and that someone looses their job over this. No matter how acceptable they try to spin this, no one without a search warrant should have the authority to approve this.

If the webcam was actually used to capture something that the school district felt "improper" - that goes way above and beyond what would be appropriate monitoring. If they want to filter, take screen shots unannounced and present those screen shots to the parents - that's another story - but the webcam - off limits.

To add to my previous post - what if the parents where looking at the kid's notebook in various stages of undress? Should you now post that the parents need to be fully clothed inside their own house before looking at the notebook? Go ahead and try that one on.

If i was a parent of these kids - i would be incensed over this possibility.

"For example, if he was going to inappropriate sites on the school machine, even if he is at home then the camera should be allowed to be used for user verification."

Did you even think before you typed that? If someone is looking at porn, that is not the time to video them.

I vehemently disagree. This is a school issued laptop, to highschool aged kids. If the laptop has not been reported stolen, there is absolutely no reason to turn this function on. An IT administrator can easily tell if the laptop has been used inappropriately and revoke priveledges to the student without the need of a built in webcam for user verification.

Here's a scenario for you - Kid comes home from school, begins doing homework online but is going out later on, so he/she takes a shower. The school administrator randomly turns the camera on for user verification just as the student is exiting the shower. Meanwhile there's an IT administrator (who may or may not be a pervert) at the school secretly watching the student traipse around their room naked. Something about this scenario disturbs me. Students NEVER do their homework right after school.

Heard about this from a different source... def. invasion of privacy if you ask me.

Just another reason why laptops in a high school setting are a HUGE waste of money.

Problem: School spying on you using Web cam on school issued Lap top.
Solution: Duct Tape
And if they get in a tizzy about not being able to "verify" the user because there was tape over then lens, then you know that they were trying to spy on you and that they also cannot prove that it was you using the computer at the time they took control of the web cam.

if i was one of them(students) i will cover the cam with some chewing gum or plaster

Yeah see, I don't see this as a big thing, its school propertie so they can do what ever they want with it. They should send a letter round the parents and warn them of what they can do with the laptop, If the parents don't like it or the student then don't use it! Go buy your own laptop and stop crying.

Funny true story. My girlfriend has a piece of tape over her laptops webcam in fear of a hacker activating/viewing it. As a young male my self I would have to fight the urge to stick my privates right in front of the webcam for the principal to see.

The bad behavior of the kid who got his picture taken at home...was reported to the parents as 'pill popping". The kid was eating Mike & Ike candies and the school admin thought it was pills. LOL too funny. Think about this tho., If the FBI can activate you cell phone mic even when the phone is turned off then im sure someone can do the same to the laptop mic or cam., (goto youtube and search if your not familiar with that)

The blood sucking lawyers are talking class action suit now. They are swarming because this is an easy meal for them. In class action suits the lawyers get the most.