photo: Truthout.org/ BY-NC-SA

A high school in Pennsylvania has recently run into some deep problems regarding privacy. There has been a class-action lawsuit filed against Harriton High School for cyber spying their students.

A 15-year-old student named Blake Robbins was the first to sound off the alarm. In November, the school’s assistant principal, Linda Matsko, approached him and accused him of being “engaged in improper behavior in his home”. The assistant principal knew this from a photo taken from the web cam of the Mac Book Robbins had been provided by the school district. Matsko was suspicious that the boy was selling drugs, a claim which Robbins says is false. All 2,300 students in the Lower Merion School District were given Mac Books for school purposes.

The camera was only supposed to be used in case a lost, stolen, or missing laptop came up. Then the school would be able to identify what happened to the laptop and whose hands it is in. A blogger for Conservative Minority commented saying:

“…there is the question of whether a laptop was ever reported stolen. Fortunately the web camera software was disabled. We know at least one school official was watching/spying on a student while at home. Do you wonder how many other school officials where doing that? This can't be excused. This is so very wrong.”

Blake Robbins and his parents filed a civil rights lawsuit against the school stating that that the school district has violated the Fourth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act. The suit is currently at class action status, which not only involves Blake Robbins and his family but also 1,800 students who were given laptops as well.

Not only is this happening in Philadelphia, but there has also been a recent situation in Bronx, New York where a vice-principal proudly boasts about being able to spy on his students when they use the computers at their school. Is there any limit or right to privacy for students? A situation like this definitely raises some questions.

Since when is it ever okay for a school to watch your every move? Teenagers are citizens too and we like to have our right to privacy. Not knowing that someone is watching you in the privacy of your own home is very scary. I can hardly stand it when my mom comes busting in my room if I’m changing or just kickin’ it. Techonology has created situations that take privacy to a whole new level. This big question to me is whether the courts will treat this as a case that’s not a big deal or if they will recognize that youth have rights, too. We all deserve our own privacy. I’m sure the teens at Harriton now feel violated and may even be uncomfortable being in their rooms. Hopefully this case gets settled and the administrator has to face real consequences.

Otherwise, it’s like the TV show Big Brother ... you never know who’s watching you.