Lower Merion, PA school district cleared of Federal spying charges, approves new privacy policies
By Sean Hollister 
posted August 17th 2010 4:30PM
posted August 17th 2010 4:30PM
On a related note, students returning to Lower Merion for a new school year can set their minds at ease, as the school board just approved a new set of laptop regulations that (among other things) ban remote monitoring of microphones and webcams. Feel free to pick through for technical loopholes at our more coverage link, and let's hope this little LMSD soap opera is finally at an end.
Those guys were real idiots...... To eaves drop on people when they were at home....... wow....
@Hell Angel
Well, it wasn't eavesdropping so much as it was photographing young children in the privacy of their own homes.
So it's kinda worse than just eavesdropping.
@Hell Angel
But the government said that the government is off the hook, so you should feel better about teachers spying on your kids in their homes.
I have a feeling though that the people aren't going to accept that answer and followup with a lawsuit of their own.
Unfortunately, even if they win, all that happens is that tax money is taken away from themselves, and no actual teachers or principles that are protected by the union will have any direct repercussions for their actions.
@Hell Angel
next time i won't leave my laptop open, in plain view of myself, as i stand in front of my mirror... pretending to be bruce willis... in my underwear...
lesson learnt.
You just know there was some creepy old dude (look like the pope) sitting in some matrix looking control room with like 10 or 12 screens, all bugged out and just beatin' it up. beatin' his meat senseless.
"ohhhhhhhh my gawd.... kiddies... ohhhhhh my gawd pink backpacks...."
@MisterWarmth
That image made me laugh so hard!!!
xDDD
@Ducman69
the government said the school district is off the hook for criminal charges only. Meaning they can't prosecute employees for attempting to get photos of underage kids because they can't prove it. This doesn't mean the school is in for a huge s**tstorm for the civil class-action suit that the parents have against the school. Since it's not for criminal charges, I think it's more than likely that the school will pay dearly.
@Hell Angel Seriously, the American public is way too touchy these days. When I was a kid, teachers didn't spy on you in your bedroom with a laptop, they crawled right into bed with you to keep you company.
Frakin bunch of idiot running this country from top to bottom.
@sweet greggo part deux
"Frakin bunch of idiot running this country from top to bottom."
Well, who voted for those idiots? Who's the idiot then?
Anyone looked at the the so-called Patriot Act and what it means for your privacy and basic civil liberties?
Anyone?
Can people see it's making its way around the world?
@pika2000
It doesn't matter who you vote for when both sides serve the interests of the financiers.
Politics is mere puppetry. The whole gov has been bought out, and not only in the USA but world-wide.
Kobe bryant must be so relieved
@Metacognition Ah, beat me to it. Don't know if even he could afford to buy each parent in the district a yellow diamond.
@Metacognition Took the words right out of my mouth.
@Metacognition
It's only ok to spy on children if you belong to a union, or a major sports team, apparently.
I thought it was silly the first time I saw those newer laptops with a little door to cover the webcam. I guess this might be what they're intended for. This, and people who don't notice that the little light goes on when the webcam is active.
@Dafrety Ah, but beware: a) In George Orwell's 1984, the ViewScreens could see you, and Mr. O wasn't far off. b) A while back (it may well be invalid now), AT&T patented a display technology that also let light in and so could act as a huge camera. This was of course to act as a video phone that didn't require you to look above the display, but rather, at the person you were talking to. c) Apple have since patented the same, and the patent is still very much alive!
Who is to say your current MacBook cannot see you? (Assuming you have one.)
What is a bit worrying is it will be very difficult to cover up SeeScreens.
Scary huh!?
@Oflife
I suppose it's the macfixit deconstructions that say there's no camera behind the screen...
Unless it's a magic camera!
@engadgethead
correction iFixit
"a US attorney told reporters that FBI and police investigators hadn't found proof beyond a reasonable doubt that school employees had criminal intent to spy on students using their school-issued laptops."
Yeah, probably because they have shared the stuff with the officials. "Hey, we got some good stuff here. We'll share if you let us slide." Hilarious. Nobody is outraged by this?
At the same time, a citizen can be put in jail merely for recording a video of law enforcements.
@pika2000
That is a "modern western democracy" - bribery and "equality".
In Germany politicianbs sold of city property using cross border leasing - even though their mandate didn't allow them too - guess what the Investigators said: "no criminal offence" - no, they just stole a millions of € - possibly billions scaled up to the whole country - from the public...
@pika2000
Or how about knowing a murder is going to take place but not saying anything. You still get picked up by the police as an accessory since you didn't report it.
These people knew that child pornography of some sort was going on. Whether or not there was intent doesn't stop the fact that it happened and school officials knew about it. They should be up on charges.
I think this is bull.
Why'd you use a picture of an Eee, Sean? They used MacBooks.
@soren121 He used the same picture they've used for all the articles covered on this story. The brand of computer is irrelevant.
so if I spy on my neighbor's daughter because I think her father stole my lawnmower, I'm in the clear?
hypothetically speaking
@rocko213
that's a solid hypothesis imo
What does this mean - put some heavy duty tape over the camera unless you own the notebook.
On another note... isn't it typical some state connected official commits a crime and the police/attorney clear them - same in the US, same in Europe...
@Engadget
"It ain't over till it's over" - Yogi Berra
So what this means is I can spy on my neighbors if I don't have "criminal intent?" I suppose that wont keep them from suing me if they find out...
"The district has already spent nearly $1 million in legal fees and expenses on the case.
Meanwhile, the Robbinses' attorney has asked the judge to order Lower Merion to pay him $418,000 to cover his bills through July. That request is pending."
Taxpayers get screwed, lawyers get rich....
@Jay Evans
...and the real pedophiles still run free.
@pika2000
These kind of things make me wonder just what sort of effed up society we live in these days...
@Jay Evan
You've basically articulated the defendant's proposition:
"Listen up taxpayers. The longer this goes on, the more it is going to cost you, so let's Just drop it. OK?"
@xboomer - That is a big part of the problem right now. I live near this district and most of the residents are pissed it happened but realize if the district gets hit with a huge fine, the only way for them to pay for it is to raise taxes. So they will raise taxes on everyone to pay back a smaller number of the same people, and of course the lawyers. It's pretty much a no-win for everyone involved.
They spied on teens , shouldn't that make them all sex offenders?
@Hydra
Not if you're friends with the law enforcements/officials, where the real pedophiles are. But you taking a piss on a bush, bam, you're a sex offender.
@Hydra
If it was found out that photos of the children while in underwear/ naked were opened by the district employees, then I would say yes.
Otherwise, I don't see a charge like that sticking.
@TryfHalden
(forgot to add something)
OR if they found those kinds of pictures on employee's hard drives outside of whatever computer/server those images were originally sent to.
whats their definition of criminal intent?
so i guess we can all hack into webcams and watch if we didnt intend criminal intent
No "criminal intent" that's what The Illusive Man said.
That is bullshit. Drop the hammer on this fucking jerks!!! Bullshit!!!
Another win for the power-hungry, bitter, abusive high school computer technicians and sysadmins out there. *sigh*
i call BULLSHIT.
BULLSHIT. Fucking corrupt ass school government protecting their own. Shocker.
Pedobear approves
Were'nt they using Macs? So why a pic of a PC Engadget?
You're giving Asus a bad name :p
The FBI isn't going after this one because they need the resources to try and get Rod Blagojevich. They have 23 counts of egg on their face.
Pardon me for sounding a bit over protective, but if I found out that the school my children were attending was actively spying on them. There would be no lawsuit.... or bodies.
YOU DO NOT MESS WITH ANOTHER PERSON'S CHILD.
"US attorney told reporters that FBI and police investigators hadn't found proof beyond a reasonable doubt that school employees had criminal intent to spy on students using their school-issued laptops."
So, as long as school administrators weren't planning to "do evil", secretly spying on students in their bedrooms isn't criminal. Must be nice to get a creep pass. The wholesale acceptance of the lack of basic privacy that has emerged with the kids growing up alongside the tech revolution is disgusting. It's a sign that civics education is lacking in most US schools, both public and private. Eric Schmidt will likely be pleased with the results of this investigation.