Lower Merion High School Spycam

Parents Forum
1

<p>I'm not sure why a similar thread was locked; this seems a legitimate topic of interest for the Parents Forum.</p>

<p>No need to repeat water under the bridge from the prior thread, but here is a good summary of the topic which clearly still has more chapters to unfold:</p>

<p>How</a> a lawsuit over school laptops evolved | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/21/2010</p>

<p>As to the local police links to the spycam, this quote is interesting:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Joseph Daly, who retired in 2009 as Lower Merion police superintendent, said he never knew that his department was being furnished with pictures snapped from students' laptops.</p>

<p>"God, no, I don't remember that," he said when told about it. "That's illegal as hell."

[/quote]
</p>

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<p>I suspect it was locked because some people were engaging in personal warfare.</p>

<p>Hopefully this thread won’t go the same way, because it is a very interesting and relevant topic.</p>

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<p>Makes sense to me.</p>

<p>Also, if the kids weren’t allowed to take the laptops home–WHY ISSUE THEM LAPTOPS? You know–portable computers? Just buy new desktop computers for the computer lab instead.</p>

<p>This whole thing is a fiasco.</p>

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<p>The kids are allowed to take the laptops home…provided the family pays the $55 insurance fee. The Robbins family didn’t pay, so their son was issued a loaner laptop which was supposed to be used only in school. He took it home, and that eventually triggered the activation of the webcam since, as the article says, “it was suspected Robbins was taking the laptop home without permission”.</p>

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<p>[Senate</a> panel sets Phila. hearing on Web surveillance | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/24/2010](<a href=“http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/88990057.html]Senate”>http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/88990057.html)</p>

<p>Specter’s hearing to be held 10am Monday. I wonder if it will get to Doubleclick rifling through our computers everytime we access the internet …</p>

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<p>[School</a> laptop spy case prompts Wiretap Act rethink](<a href=“School laptop spy case prompts Wiretap Act rethink | Ars Technica”>School laptop spy case prompts Wiretap Act rethink | Ars Technica)</p>

<p>Nice to see the larger issue being examiined.</p>