Federal judge orders school district to stop webcam monitoring on laptops without students’, parents’ consent

A federal district court judge ordered a Pennsylvania school district to stop activating webcams on district-issued laptops while they are being used by students in their homes.  

On May 14, 2010, the district court judge, in Robbins v. Lower Merion School District, 2010 WL 1976869 (E.D. Pa. 2010), also required the district, by September 1, 2010, to adopt official policies governing the use and distribution of the laptops and student privacy. Under the implemented policies, the District must explain to and obtain written permission from students and parents or guardians regarding the manner and circumstances in which district personnel may remotely access the laptops or review any information or data contained in them.  

On the same day, a magistrate judge ordered the district to mail notices to all affected students and parents or guardians. The district must notify the parties of the dates on which the tracking of the student’s laptop was activated and deactivated, the number of images captured, and the number of screen shots captured on the laptop. The district also must give the students and parents or guardians a chance to review the images.  

The injunctions follow a class action suit that was filed in February 2010 after webcam photos were taken of high-school sophomore Blake Robbins in his bedroom. The family said they found out about the webcam photos when Harriton High School Assistant Principal Lynn Matsko called Robbins into her office to discuss possible drug use that she learned of through photos and instant messages captured on Robbins’ computer, according to a March 3, 2010 article in USA Today. The photo, parents say, shows Robbins holding a handful of Mike & Ike candies.  

The webcams were activated as part of an anti-theft feature on computer management software used by the district, which issued laptops to all of its high school students. District officials asserted the webcams were activated only after a laptop was reported lost or stolen. In some cases, however, the tracking system was left running for weeks after the laptop was recovered, according to the March 3rd article.  

Students and parents or guardians had signed a policy acknowledging the district could monitor the laptops’ contents and Internet usage. However, the policy did not authorize the district to use webcams, according to the March 3rd article.  

Pursuant to the injunction, the district has recently adopted a policy that permits webcams to be activated only with the written consent of students and parents.  

In addition, federal authorities, on August 17, 2010, announced they did not intend to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for taking the photos, finding that they could not prove the requisite intent.