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Minnesota Teen Wins Settlement After School Takes Facebook Password
schwit1 (797399) writes "A Minnesota school district has agreed to pay $70,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed school officials violated a student's constitutional rights by viewing her Facebook and email accounts without permission. The lawsuit, filed in 2012 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, alleged that Riley Stratton, now 15, was given detention after posting disparaging comments about a teacher's aide on her Facebook page, even though she was at home and not using school computers. After a parent complained about the Facebook chat, the school called her in and demanded her password. With a sheriff deputy looking on, she complied, and they browsed her Facebook page in front of her, according to the report. 'It was believed the parent had given permission to look at her cellphone,' Minnewaska Superintendent Greg Schmidt said Tuesday. But Schmidt said the district did not have a signed consent from the parent. That is now a policy requirement, he said.'"
Asks schwit1, "How is this not a violation of the CFAA?"
It sounds like the school was violating Facebook's Terms of Service, too.
The summary said she gave them her password. That sounds like permission.
The bigger problem here though is that the student actually thought that what she posted on facebook was somehow actually private. Once you release something on the internet you no longer have control of it - particularly when you give that something to a for-profit company. If she wanted it to be private she should not have posted it online, anywhere.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.