Media: Flawed Journalism On Laptop Spying Story

Details emerging since Friday suggest that the media jumped on the juicy cyber-spying story without bothering to get the full story (ie, the available facts, context).  I thought reporting was what differentiated journalists from bloggers, but maybe these days journalists are just overpaid bloggers.

Things we now know:  The spyware was intended only to be used in cases of theft rather than as some sort of ongoing monitoring program and was only used in "a handful" of cases by two authorized IT officials, according to the district. The district says it recovered about half of 42 computers reported lost or stolen using the software over a 14 month period.  It's also defending the AP who's accusing of misusing the program (here).  

Blake Robbin the kid whose parents filed the lawsuit was apparently accused of selling drugs and photographed doing what he described as eating candles (here). His parents say his computer was never reported lost.  Legal filing here (PDF).  Family lawyers are now suggesting that the district will "wipe" computers. The local paper seems amazed that a well-regarded district could be turned into a punch line overnight.

Comments

[Robert]

I'm not sure I follow your point here. Are you saying an abuse of authority is OK if it's only done in "a handful" of cases, rather than as part of a program of abuse? I haven't been following this story as closely as others, but I find it surprising that the users of the laptops were not explicitly made aware of this security feature and made to sign a waiver acknowledging it.

And here's another angle that has come to light that I find even more surprising. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported "More than a year ago, two Harriton High School student council members privately confronted the principal when they learned that the school could covertly photograph students using the laptop's cameras."

In short, this has been known to at least some students for over a year, and the students did nothing to stop it. Future journalists, perhaps?

[alexander]

good points, robert --
i'm not saying that the district did everything right -- they said that the computers could be monitored but didn't make clear what that meant, and in at least a handful of cases it seems like administrators were using the feature for reasons unrelated to laptop security. but the initial coverage was atrocious -- it made the situation sound like it was widespread and systematic, even intentional, when that doesn't seem to be the case.

[transparent laptop]

at least one instance where the software was activated, the high school needs faster computer now a days.