Peeping teachers: The webcam spying scandal

A Philly high school allegedly spies on students at home via school-issued laptops. Creepiest teachers ever?

Privacy advocates are outraged by allegations that a Philadelphia school district has been monitoring students at home through the webcams on school-issued laptops. The charges are in a class-action lawsuit filed by Michael Robbins, after the school busted his son, Blake, for "improper behavior in his home" — proving their case with laptop-snapped photos. Is the Lower Merion School District playing a "creepy" game of Big Brother? (Watch a CBS report about the school spying on its students)

This sounds pervy and upsetting: These "purely horrifying" allegations are "about as creepy as they come," says Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing. "I often have the laptop in the room while I'm getting dressed," and I'm sure the Lower Merion kids do, too. Even setting aside the potential for underage Peeping Tom-ism, though, the school is failing the kids by teaching them their "privacy is worthless."

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