Lower Merion Township -[OnlyInPhiladelphia.com]—The FBI has launched an investigation into the alleged school district who was activating and operating the webcams on the school-issued laptops to spy on it’s students off of school property.
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Lower Merion School District officials are now being investigated to see if they broke any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws after Blake Robbins, a student at the school, registered a suit in federal court claiming that a notice was given to him by the Assistant Principal stating

“the school district was of the belief that minor plaintiff was engaged in improper behavior in his home, and cited as evidence a photograph from the Webcam.”

In defense, the L. Merion officials admit to activating 42 webcams over a span of 14 months, but claim it was only used to help locate missing laptops.

In a statement from the district, the “security feature was installed to help locate a laptop in the event it was reported lost, missing or stolen so that the laptop could be returned to the student.”

Furthermore, “upon a report of a suspected lost, stolen or missing laptop, the feature was activated by the district’s security and technology departments. And the authority has not used webcams for any other purpose.”

Are our public schools crossing the line when it comes to “school surveillance”?

The suspicions of the webcam-spying have become more widespread now that the news has circulated about the incident, and even former teachers are expressing their concern.

“I used to teach at Harriton High, one of the two Lower Merion [school district] high schools. The year I left they gave out the laptops to all students and, I believe, teachers,” said Lauren Kathleen, a former teacher in LMSD.

“I wonder if they are also secretly watching their staff at home too.”

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