Webcamgate is continuing to haunt school officials in Philadelphia.

 

Yet another lawsuit has been filed against the Lower Merion School District for illegally spying on students by remotely activating webcams on school-issued laptops. About 1,800 computers were issued to students without telling them that district officials could turn on the built-in webcams, which they did, including when students were at home.

 

The revelation prompted a class action case (Robbins v. Lower Merion) which school officials settled for $610,000 after 15-year-old Blake Robbins, a student at Harriton High School in Rosemont, was informed by an assistant principal, Lindy Matsko, that the school knew he “was engaged in improper behavior in his home,” and provided a photograph from the webcam.

 

Now, the district is facing a second civil lawsuit by the family of Joshua Levin, another Harriton High student, who claims Joshua “was shocked, humiliated and severely emotionally distressed” after being shown thousands of images of himself that were captured by the webcam on his computer.

 

In the words of the lawsuit, “Plaintiff [Joshua Levin] kept the laptop in his bedroom, as well as throughout his mother’s household and his father’s household. Plaintiff’s younger brother noticed that the light in the camera would go off and on at odd times, wondering if the family was being ‘spied on.’ Plaintiff’s mother dismissed the idea as absurd, as the notion that the school district was secretly monitoring and taking pictures of students was simply incomprehensible and beyond all rational belief….Unfortunately, this suspicion on the part of Plaintiff’s younger brother was not a ‘fantasy,’ but was shockingly correct.”

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Family Sues Over Webcam Scandal in Philly Schools (by Reuben Kramer, Courthouse News Service)

Joshua Levin v. Lower Merion School District (U.S. District Court, Eastern Pennsylvania) (pdf)

Robbins v. Lower Merion School District (Wikipedia)

School District Accused of Using Laptops to Spy on Students at Home (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)