FBI Launches Investigation Over Schools Webcam Spying

On Friday February 19th we reported that a Pennsylvania school district was spying on students using school provided laptops with built in webcam support, now the FBI has launched an investigate into the legality of the schools decision and actions.

The school district is already facing a civil class action lawsuit in regards to their actions which caused webcams to be activated 42 times.

According to Lower Merion representatives, the webcam spying software could only be accessed by two employees and was only suppose to be used only when laptops were stolen, which doesn’t really make sense considering they had disciplined a child for their behavior at home by providing proof via webcam stills captured from the students laptop, which has nothing to do with a stolen unit. Also, were 42 laptops really stolen? This whole laptop program must be costing the school district a huge fortune to operate!

The school also says they only captured image and not sound, as if the sound aspect was the worst part, especially when considering that at least one female student told her parents she often left her computer on in her room, even when getting dressed.

Regardless of the outcome, the entire situation was a boneheaded move by a misguided school district, plain and simple. [WashingtonPost]