PA school avoids federal charges in MacBook spying case
updated 06:45 pm EDT, Tue August 17, 2010
Civil case continues
A Philadelphia school district has avoided charges from federal prosecutors following an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the MacBook spying case. US Attorney David Memeger claims investigators could not find any evidence of criminal intent by school employees.
The school district admitted to retaining thousands of screenshots from MacBook webcams provided to students. The images were reportedly used to help recover missing laptops, although several employees referred to the pictures as a "sop opera." The tracking system was also said to have been activated on a number of occasions after the computers were recovered.
Although prosecutors declined to file charges, the school district was sued by a student and his family over invasion of privacy. The lawsuit has yet to be settled outside of court. [via AP]
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 1999
Sop Opera
And you know how much I hate sop operas... This is an outrage; these school administrators spied on people's children in the privacy of their homes and bedrooms without their knowledge, and recorded these sessions. This is the height of inappropriate and illegal behavior with school equipment, and I only hope the civil lawsuits bury this school district in debt, as a warning to districts around the country not to try doing something like this.