The case of a Philadelphia school spying on their students using their laptops’ webcams has been the biggest webcam story this year. It has gained international attention, with the Lower Merion school district (or LMSD) receiving thousands of emails, a few of which were death threats. We first reported on the story back in February, and it has still yet to reach its conclusion.
After a long federal investigation, the government has decided that they will not prosecute the LMSD, as they found no evidence of criminal intent by the district’s administration. The LANrev software was installed on the 1,800 laptops the district distributed so that if they were stolen they might be recovered by using the webcams.
This decision by federal prosecutors doesn’t effect any civil lawsuits against the LMSD, however, which have a lower burden of proof. There are two civil lawsuits to go to court. The first was filed after 15-year-old Blake Robbins, who was disciplined for “suspicious behaviour” based on a photo taken of Blake in his bedroom from his webcam. It turned out that the suspicious behaviour was him eating candy. The second was filed after it became apparent to Jalil Hasan’s family that he had been monitored for months after the spying software was activated so he could find his lost laptop. The spying software remained activated after the laptop was recovered, and was only stopped when the Robbins lawsuit was filed.
The school district has subsequently admitted to “misguided actions” and “serious mistakes”. The Board of School Directors have also announced some revised laptop policies.
While the Lower Merion school district administration may be clear of criminal charges, the staff of the school in question could still be in the firing line. The Robbins lawsuit identifies IT administrator Carol Cafiero as a voyeur, attributing a quote to her discussing how she likes that the webcams show a “little LMSD soap opera.”
We’ll be sure to keep you informed when the civil lawsuits go to court.
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