WebCam Spying Suit Triggers War of Words

eWeek

A high school assistant principal in the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania lashes out about the Webcam spying allegations, while the student at the center of the case says her denials fall short.

The Webcam spying allegations that have rocked Pennsylvania's Lower Merion School District turned into a verbal sparring match Feb. 24 when a high school administrator offered an emotionally charged rebuttal that the family suing the district said does not constitute a denial of relevant facts.

The parents of Harriton High School student Blake Robbins filed a class action lawsuit (PDF) Feb. 11 alleging that the school remotely activated a Webcam and took a picture of their son, which they accuse Assistant Principal Lynn Matsko of citing as evidence that he was engaged in "improper behavior in his home."

In response to what she termed "many false accusations reported about me in the media," Matsko denied any involvement in spying on Robbins or any other student.

"If I believed anyone was spying on either of my children in our home, I too would be outraged … At no point in time did I have the ability to access any Webcam through security tracking software," Matsko said. "At no time have I ever monitored a student via a laptop Webcam, nor have I ever authorized the monitoring of a student via security tracking Webcam either at school or within the home. And I never would."

She continued, "In my 10-plus years as an assistant principal I have never disciplined a student for conduct he or she engaged in outside of school property that is not in connection with school, or a school-related event. That is not, has never been and never should be my role."

Calling the allegations "abhorrent and outrageous," Matsko said she has been subjected to numerous "offensive and threatening" e-mail messages since the controversy broke.

After her statement, Robbins read a statement to the media in which he stressed that the intent of the suit was not to disparage Matsko, but to take the school board to task for green-lighting the technology involved in the accusation.

The students' MacBook laptops were outfitted with task management software called LANrev that could be used to remotely activate the Webcams. The district has characterized the technology as a security tracking feature intended to recover lost laptops, and has reported that the software had been used for this purpose 42 times as of Feb. 19.

In his statement, Robbins noted that Matsko did not deny seeing a Webcam picture and screenshot of him in his home—she denied having authorized or activated the Webcam.

"We have no reason to doubt Ms. Matsko's statement that she did not personally activate the Webcam on my computer, but that has never been the issue," he said. "The issue is that we know someone accessed my Webcam and provided Ms. Matsko with a screenshot and a Webcam picture of me at home in my bedroom."

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, an attorney representing the Robbins family claimed Matsko told the student directly that he had been observed via the Webcam "trying to sell pills."

After being notified of the lawsuit, the district disabled the feature and pledged not to re-enable it without notifying students and their family members. Meanwhile, the FBI and local investigators have reportedly opened up an investigation into the case.

Pennsylvania School Official in Webcam Spy Case

AP

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A suburban Philadelphia school district accused of secretly switching on laptop computer webcams inside students' homes says it never used webcam images to monitor or discipline students and believes one of its administrators has been "unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked."

The Lower Merion School District, in response to a suit filed by a student, has acknowledged that webcams were remotely activated 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing, lost or stolen laptops - which the district noted would include "a loaner computer that, against regulations, might be taken off campus."

"Despite some reports to the contrary, be assured that the security-tracking software has been completely disabled," Superintendent Christopher W. McGinley said in a statement on the district's Web site late Friday. Officials vowed a comprehensive review that McGinley said should result in stronger privacy policies.

Harriton High School student Blake Robbins and his parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against the district, its board of directors and McGinley. They accused the school of turning on the webcam in his computer while it was inside their Penn Valley home, which they allege violated wiretap laws and his right to privacy.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, alleges that Harriton vice principal Lindy Matsko on Nov. 11 cited a laptop photo in telling Blake that the school thought he was engaging in improper behavior. He and his family have told reporters that an official mistook a piece of candy for a pill and thought he was selling drugs.

Neither the family nor their attorney, Mark Haltzman, returned calls this week seeking comment. A listed number for Matsko could not be found.

"We believe that the administrator at Harriton has been unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked in connection with her attempts to be supportive of a student and his family," the statement on the Lower Merion School District site said. "The district never did and never would use such tactics as a basis for disciplinary action."

A district spokesman declined further comment on the statement Saturday.

Lower Merion, an affluent district in Philadelphia's suburbs, issues Apple laptops to all 2,300 students at its two high schools. Only two employees in the technology department, not administrators, were authorized to activate the cameras, which captured still images but not sound, officials said.

"While certain rules for laptop use were spelled out ... there was no explicit notification that the laptop contained the security software," McGinley said. "This notice should have been given, and we regret that was not done."

The district's Web site said 42 activations of the system resulted in the recovery of 18 computers, not 28 as district spokesman Doug Young had said earlier. They reiterated that it was done only to locate lost, stolen or missing laptops.

"The district has not used the tracking feature or webcam for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever," the Web site said. The site also noted that there was nothing to prevent students from covering the webcam with tape.

McGinley said the district had hired former federal prosecutor Henry Hockeimer Jr. to review past practices and suggest improvements.

The FBI is looking into whether any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws were violated, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman has said she might also investigate.

Andy Derrow, father of a Harriton junior, said he does not believe the district was spying on students. He said he has two other sons who graduated from the school and had substantially benefited from the computer program.

"I don't think there was any ill intent here," he said "I think we all need to take a breath and wait and see what the facts are."