Parents File Lawsuit Over Webcams Used To Spy On Students

The parents of Blake Robbins, a student at Harriton High School in Rosemont, PA, have launched a class-action lawsuit against the Lower Merion School District, the Board of Directors of the school district, and the Superindent, as well. At issue: laptops that were given to students by the district, which can have their webcams activated remotely by school administrators, even when the student is at home or away from the computer.

The lawsuit (.PDF) alleges that students and parents weren't told about the webcam "feature." The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the 1,800 district students, seeks "to recover damages caused to the Plaintiffs and Class by Defendants' invasion of Plaintiffs' privacy, (and) theft of Plaintiffs' private information."

It was only when an assistant principal at Harriton High School told tenth-grader Blake Robbins that she had a picture that proved he “was engaged in improper behavior in his home” that the "feature" came to the fore.

The lawsuit alleges the webcams violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of privacy, privacy under Pennsylvania common law, the U.S. Civil Rights Act, and a variety of other statutes. The filing adds:

As the laptops at issue were routinely used by students and family members while at home, it is believed and therefore averred that many of the images captured and intercepted may consist of images of minors and their parents or friends in compromising or embarrassing positions, including, but not limited to, in various stages of dress or undress.

That, of course, brings up the possibility that in some circumstances the images were basically child porn.

District spokesman Doug Young said on Thursday, “This is the first we have heard of the allegations. We can categorically state that we are, and always have been, committed to the privacy of our students."