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You’d be forgiven for thinking you were reading the plot of a Black Mirror episode but this disturbing story, about a school that spied on their students, is very real.
In what seemed like a kind act made possible through an education grant, one school gave away free MacBooks to 2,300 pupils.
However, what the kids didn’t know was that they were being spied on through the webcams.
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The incident happened in Pennsylvania in 2010, when students across the Lower Merion School District were given a MacBook to use at school and also take home with them.
The laptops were equipped with tracking software in case of theft.
But this software also meant that school officials would be able to remotely access the webcams on the computers as well as view their web browsing and messaging.
They could also take photos of the students while they were in the privacy of their own home.
The school district's illicit activities were blown wide open in late 2009 after student Blake J. Robbins, then a sophomore at Harriton High School, discovered that his webcam had been activated covertly.
Robbins discovered this when he was called into the vice-principal's office and accused of engaging in the consumption and sale of drugs, with covertly captured webcam images used as ‘proof’.
Robbins called the accusation ‘completely false’.
After revealing what had happened to his parents, the Robbins family decided to bring forth a lawsuit on behalf of all pupils provided with laptops by the school.
A second student named, Jalil Hasan, later filed a complaint for invasion of privacy.
It came after his family learnt that Hasan, who was 17 at the time, had been secretly monitored through his webcam for a period of two months.
The case was eventually settled in October 2010, with the district agreeing to pay $610,000 to settle both suits.
The settlement saw $175,000 and $10,000 being placed in trusts for Robbins and Hasan respectively, with the students’ attorneys receiving $425,000.
At the time, the Lower Merion School District issued a statement that said in part:
“We believe this settlement enables us to move forward in a way that is most sensitive to our students, taxpayers and the entire school district community. The agreement is comprehensive, and effectively resolves all components of the laptop litigation, including the Robbins and Hasan cases and the Graphic Arts insurance case.
“Although we would have valued the opportunity to finally share an important, untold story in the courtroom, we recognize that in this case, a lengthy, costly trial would benefit no one. It would have been an unfair distraction for our students and staff and it would have cost taxpayers additional dollars that are better devoted to education.
“We also wanted to be sensitive to the welfare of the student involved in the case, given the possible ramifications of what would have been a highly-publicized trial.
“Bottom line, it is time to resolve this matter and ensure that the District's resources are focused squarely on educating our children.”
