The Continuous Balancing of Privacy and Technology

Technology has long been a crucial ally of law enforcement in its efforts to combat terrorism, organized crime and securities law violations. However, the use of technology for security purposes can be a controversial area of the law, pitting the interests of safety against those of privacy. This has lead to  a number of battles waged in the highest courts in the land to determine just what the outer edge of tech use in such situations should be.

A recent situation in Pennsylvania far removed from the realm of terrorists or the mafia has caught the public's attention and renewed debate on both sides of the argument. Despite possibly good intentions and the protection of its property, The Lower Merion School District is facing not only bad press, but a law suit for its use of web-cam technology to track where laptops are. Because students and parents were unaware of the cameras, which could presumably be triggered remotely whenever the student was on the internet, privacy issues have arisen. The incident leading to public awareness of the situation was actually instigated by school administration, as the high school's vice principal approached a student with a photo from a web cam of what appeared to the VP to be drugs. The student maintains it was candy. (On a side note, for any NBA fans, this is indeed Kobe Bryant's Lower Merion. History and politics buffs might also recognize the name Alexander Haig on the school's list of famous alums. Haig, who passed just recently, was a fixture in the White House under multiple administrations, culminating with a Secretary of State posting under Reagan.)

Though the school certainly has arguments in its favor, I would anticipate that the outcome of this case would be the discontinuation of the use of the cameras, or at the very least a mandate for disclosure if such technology is to be used. Arguably, such a disclosure would serve the administration's stated goal of property protection, as a student would be less likely to misuse property he knows could be tracked, so all parties could end up as winners in the end. Until then, the situation will add another log to the privacy/security debate fire, and is certainly one to watch.

UPDATE: The use of laptop cameras in this case might have been far more extensive than people originally thought. The details can be found here.

UPDATE: The results are in...