School used laptops to spy on students at home

Just when you think you've seen it all, you discover you haven't.

Unlike schools in my day, the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania issues laptop computers to high school students. This became problematic because it turns out the laptops have webcams that can be secretly activated by the school - enabling the school to watch what students do at home.

Few were aware of this until the school punished a pupil for "improper behavior in his home." As evidence, school administrators used a photo taken by the webcam.

It's bad enough that schools try to keep students in suspended animation by punishing them for what they do at home, when the offense has no connection to school. Now schools are using laptops with secret webcams to catch them?

Now the school system is the target of a class action lawsuit over this outrageous spying.

Who knows what other images the school has of students? People happen to use laptops in the same rooms where they undress and have private conversations. What sort of pervert thought of the idea of using computers to spy on high school students in their bedrooms?

There ought to be not just a civil suit but also criminal charges against the school.

(Source: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html)