Somewhere, in the basement of a top secret Homeland Security NSA computer lab, a former hacker is beta-testing a super-sniffer, call it WebSnoop 1.0, that can be deployed over the public net to track cookies, view histories, download files and activate webcams, microphones and keyboards. The new release of "Snoopy" will have modules to scrape passwords and change private files and directories into networked and viewable ones. It can create and send incriminating email from your account. It can track your every move via your cellphone and log all your ATM and credit transactions. It won't only know each stick of gum you buy, but how long you take to chew it and where you throw it away. Paranoid fantasy? Hollywood science fiction? You wish cats and kitties. 
Today, Tuesday, a rainy day with no prospect of sunlight in sight, I head over to my Facebook wall in search of inspiration. I clip a lot of links and stick them on Facebook sometimes to get the pulse of my online friends; but usually just because something interests me and I plan to get back to it later. Since it broke yesterday, I’ve been following the very interesting scandal that rocked the sleepy borough of Lower Merion, PA. It may be coming soon to a laptop near you. Perhaps nearer and sooner than you think. 
Lower Merion is a well-heeled, progressive community whose teens are issued Macbooks for schoolwork. Laudable, but one young lad decided to engage in some unscholarly activity in his bedroom, with only his laptop for company. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure the sort of activity a troubled teen male might be engaged in. The real trouble began when the school’s vice principal remotely turned on his webcam, snapped a picture of him in his bedroom and sent it, with warning to him and his parents. The notoriety has gotten so great that the lawsuit already has its own Wikipedia page.
Also check out this gizmodo link, this blog from the NY Times and the FBI investigation that has ensued.
That’s the kind of publicity that nobody wants, but we need, now more than ever.
A Lower Merion resident, whose privacy I at least will protect says:
"Our neighbor whose child is in the school, says that the kid has issues. ... It was wrong but with good predisposition, you could solve the problem privately. If this family wants money, sure the school district should pay for their mistake but ... Lower Merion is a great school district and the students are lucky to have computers and now all this may be wasted ... and worse of all, we, the tax payers, will have to pay for it.”
I feel bad for the taxpayers of L. Merion. They may not be getting a superior educational deal after all. But they will certainly be punished in more ways than one for their school administrator’s criminal stupidity. Normally I am totally with my friend on the abuses of a suit-happy society. Johnny trips on his own untied shoelaces and sues the school for waxing the floor. Where’s personal responsibility in that?
But this is different. Frankly I don’t care what the kids was doing with his computer. If it was wrong of course, and I was the kid’s parents, I’d first give him "what for" then march straight to an attorney's office. I’m certain he and his parents did not waive his right to privacy when he picked up his laptop. As it stands now, they’ll get a chance to assert that right in court. It’s overdue. It's been coming. Privacy is a vague notion, getting even vaguer in the Internet/Post 9-11 Age. In some ways this case is both inevitable and for the greater good.
It will define, in very public terms, the limits of privacy and intrusiveness in 21st Century Wired America.
Let’s be clear, you wild things out there. If you have a corporate laptop and you’re emailing your honey, surfing whatever or gambling online instead of doing company business, the law says “your bad.” In addition your company’s internal policies no doubt prohibit this and probably allow for tracking of all activity on company systems. You knowingly give up your right of privacy in exchange for your salary and continued employment. You are an adult and free to make this choice.
Kids and schools, a very different story.
Judicial conservatives are fond of saying there is no constitutional guarantee specifically related to privacy for children or adults, but the concept of Liberty is a sharp, broad sword. Now, it’s swinging in Lower Merion and I’m sure it won’t end there. I wonder if it’s getting any play in Europe. Check out my Facebook profile. At least once a week I encourage my young FBF’s to learn how to protect themselves and be alert to potential invasions of their privacy, particularly the ones they bring on themselves.
The kids simply don’t have a clue how vulnerable they are.
They post pictures of themselves that EVERYONE can see. What if I was something creepier than a nosy dad, wondering what my son and his pals are up to? This is my right and obligation as a concerned parent. My son already knows in clear terms that I look in from time to time. I hope he also knows by now that he has no guarantee of privacy in public forums. He's heard it enough. But from a technology v privacy standpoint, I find this very chilling. Perhaps more technically adept readers can offer a more informed opinion, but Lower Merion feels like the proverbial trunk of the unseen elephant in the room. Two things I’ve long suspected:
- That the technology to track anybody who is connected to the internet is ubiquitous
- That there are people using it, largely without our knowledge or consent
Most of us regard our computers as just another piece of technology.
You don’t worry about undressing, picking your nose (or doing other private stuff) in front of your toaster or MP3 player. These are all "one-way" tech. Computers are game-changing technology. They are two-way tech. They are your portal to the outside world and increasingly the world’s portal to your “inside world.”
- How much of you are you willing to share?
- How much of a choice do you want in that decision?
Uh huh.
My friend said people laughed and called her paranoid. But she found an elegant, low-tech solution that worked for her. She covered the “blinking eye” with gaffer’s tape.
It’s well-past time we pulled out the sticky tape and taped off "our private space." Digital age technology has makes intrusion easy and commonplace. It’s time we put technology to use to kick our privacy up a notch. In the meantime, tape up and especially turn off. How far “off-grid” you have to go to protect your privacy is anybody’s guess for now.
Big Brother, if you're watching, I'm very boring. I only visit the New York Times online and post to my Facebook page and this silly little blog. Nothing to see here. Move on.
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