Specter Holding Hearing on WebcamGate Case
Senator wants to see if technology warrants federal legislation
NBCPhiladelphia.com
Blake Robbins holds up the school-issued MacBook computer, the same computer he alleges school officials activated his webcam to spy.
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, D-Pa., plans to hold a hearing over the allegations that the Lower Merion School District spied on students in their homes using webcams.
The Senate subcommittee on crime and drugs will hold a special hearing on March 29 in Philadelphia to discuss whether the district's use of remote tracking software on school-issued notebook computers warrants legislation.
A class-action lawsuit was filed by The Robbins family in February alleging that district officials remotely activated their son Blake's notebook webcam to spy on the teen.
Blake says the school confronted him with photographic evidence of him engaging in "inappropriate behavior," according to the suit.
The case has become a topic of conversation nationwide, prompting other school districts who use the software to uninstall it.
The district maintains they've only used the webcam feature to find stolen or missing computers.
Specter, who heads the committee, says federal legislation may be needed to deal with the technology.
The FBI is investigating whether the school district violated wiretap and computer use laws.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Posted Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010 - 9:49 PM EST
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