CH-UH policy bars remote use of student computer webcams

The computers distributed to approximately 1,500 students in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District have the same anti-theft capabilities used by the Lower Merion School District (Ardmore, Penn.) to spy on students.

According to Coordinator of Communications Angee Shaker, however, the district has never used this feature and has strict procedures in place if it is ever needed.

Shaker’s statement is in response to questions that arose after parents of a 16-year-old sued the Lower Merion district, accusing it of using the TheftTrack feature in their computers to spy on students and their families.

TheftTrack, which allows the computer’s built-in webcam to be operated via the Internet, is provided by Absolute Software Corp. and is also installed in the CH-UH computers.

“No one in the district is authorized to access the webcam remotely from within the district network or across a private network,” Shaker said. “If a computer is reported stolen, any information gathered by Absolute Software—which could include a photo from the webcam—is shared only with law enforcement, not the district. To the best of our knowledge, this has never occurred.

“Occasionally, authorized information technology specialists may . . . install updates, diagnose software problems and/or make repairs, and configure parental controls to ensure that computers are in compliance with board policy,” Shaker said.

But she emphasized, “The district does not—nor will it—violate our students’ privacy, or any laws, to access computers in a private/nondistrict network unless they have been reported stolen. Even then, that access is handled by a security company and the police.”

The issue may not exist for much longer anyway. On Absolute Software’s corporate blog, Stephen Midgley, vice president of global marketing, wrote that TheftTrack was part of a larger acquisition made by the company in December 2009, and that because “webcam pictures are not a useful tool in tracking down the location of a stolen computer . . . we have slated the removal of the TheftTrack feature in an upcoming product update.”

Bob Rosenbaum is a Cleveland Heights resident and member of the FutureHeights board of trustees.