12 Year Old Sues School For Facebook Privacy Invasion

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The ACLU is suing a school district for giving a 12 year old student detention over sexual comments made on Facebook. Next up? The ACLU will sue Facebook for its lack of safeguards for allow 12 year old kids to sex chat. :rolleyes:


The 12-year-old sixth grade student, identified in court documents only as R.S., was on two occasions punished for statements she made on her Facebook account, and was also pressured to divulge her password to school officials, the complaint states.
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ITT: More government entities worrying about person lives. Carry on. Nothing to see here. Return to the farm, animals - you can not come in the farm house though....
 
Bravo for the kid, though. Other people at that age are taught to bend over and take anything from a school board/team/teacher/principal.
 
Have to side with the kid on this one. The schools only duty is to teach the students, nothing more. If the child made statements in the classroom, then sure, discipline the student. Outside of school, they need to mind thier business. And attempting to force the student to cough up passwords? Are they crazy? Let's see how this one plays out. Anyone have an idea of how long this case carry on before a judgement is made?
 
Uh, is there a link to the actual article anywhere here? ...
 
yeah I'm stuck in a for loop here. No article link on the news page. :)
 
Obviously,a 12 year old shouldn't be making sexual comments anywhere,but it's not up to the school officials to monitor her actions outside the school. That's the parents responsibility.
 
When I was in school the school always had the option to enact penalties for activities done outside of school.

Fighting after school?
Smoking within sight of the building?
 
Good! this is absolutely a violation for the school to be punishing based on facebook. The only thing they should be able to do in this case "if they acted on information given to them by another student" is inform the parents and let them deal with it. There needs to be more crack downs on companies that start prying into peoples private life.

Though I am unsure as to why exactly this requires the ACLU.
 
The school is only got involved because the other child about whom the sex related comments were made complained to the school. You can't really fault the parents of the other kid for complaining to the school since the only reason these two kids met was more than likely because they attended the same school. If the girl's parents did not get involved soon enough to prevent the principal (or whoever) from strong arming the password out of her then that's their fault. That's like an adult criminal who confesses under duress to a cop and then complains later because they didn't ask for legal representation. I feel for the girl, I really do. What happened was unfair, however suing the school isn't going to rectify the situation, only potentially jeopardize school funding at that district.
 
I have to say I'm torn on this matter.

I'm usually all like "To hell with the man! How dare they intrude on the kid!" But then it kind of strikes me...where do you draw the line?

For anyone who has a child (I have a 6yo), what if the kid was talking about doing drugs, or getting into trouble with the law?

I monitor what my child does on the little time he has with the PC but knowing there is an extra set of eyes out there watching little johnny is an odd comfort.

It reminds me of the cliche that it takes a village to raise a child. Argue all you want about the legality if you must but if the school helps prevent this child from going down a dangerous path of sexual interactions than good on the school for wanting to protect its students. It should be between the school and the parents to decide if they over stepped their bounds.

As for me, I would GLADLY sign any waiver the school offered to allow them to monitor my child's online activities when the time comes that he wants a Facebook account (God help me.)
 
13yr olds aren't allowed on fb. Either way, someone should say something about the school stalking its kids then ban the boy from fb.
 
The girl was called to a meeting with a deputy sheriff, school counselor and an unidentified school employee, the court documents states.

There, she was "intimidated" into giving up her login and passwords to her Facebook and e-mail accounts, the lawsuit says.

"R.S. was extremely nervous and being called out of class and being interrogated," the lawsuit says.

The officials did not have permission from R.S.'s mother to view her private communications, and they gave the girl a hard time about some of the material they discovered, the lawsuit states.
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I can't believe a deputy sheriff was there and didn't think "Hey this isn't right." Link to article
 
1. First Amendment
2. FB Rules
3. Responsible parenting

No other issues but these, and not necessarily in this order.
 
While I normally despise the ACLU, in this case they are totally in the right.
Schools have NO rights to control or dictate your child's or your life outside of school
Just as if people should realize employers have no rights to dictate your life outside of work

Too may people are willing to let their rights be trampled on because of lame excuses of... "protect the children" or "Protect our corporate image" or so on. People need to wake up and put a stop to it by just saying NO and then if no is not enough sue the pants off them.

Just because your child met another child at school that does not give the school any rights to dictate conduct outside of the immediate school grounds.

The fact that they were trying to bully her into giving them her e-mail and facebook passwords just shows how drunk mad with power these idiots are.
 
James21 said:
While I normally despise the ACLU, in this case they are totally in the right.
Schools have NO rights to control or dictate your child's or your life outside of school
Just as if people should realize employers have no rights to dictate your life outside of work

Too may people are willing to let their rights be trampled on because of lame excuses of... "protect the children" or "Protect our corporate image" or so on. People need to wake up and put a stop to it by just saying NO and then if no is not enough sue the pants off them.

Just because your child met another child at school that does not give the school any rights to dictate conduct outside of the immediate school grounds.

The fact that they were trying to bully her into giving them her e-mail and facebook passwords just shows how drunk mad with power these idiots are.
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this.

it seems more and more, that schools are conditioning kids to be slaves to whoever hands them the work they need to do, and to accept whatever comes there way from the authority figures. Not once was I taught in school to stand up to authority, or question it.

Props to this kid for giving the school a big F U after the bullied her into giving up her personal information.
 
michael.pa2 said:
Obviously,a 12 year old shouldn't be making sexual comments anywhere,but it's not up to the school officials to monitor her actions outside the school. That's the parents responsibility.
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HAHAHAHA! Half of the parents I know put the "parenting" responsibilities on the schools. That's why there is so much bullsh.. going on these days. Too many kids have no parents, they have nannies.

If my school were to punish my kids for something they did on Facebook, AT HOME, I'd be PISSED and yes, a lawsuit would ensue. If they did it at school, then it's fair game. I got in trouble for some computer related ... things... when I was in school (elementary and high school). The school punished me, but dammit if my parents do 10x worse. If my kids do what I did, they'd be punished. I'd be damn proud, but they'd know it isn't right... technically...

It happened at school, so that's their jurisdiction.

Anything that happens out of school is the parent's responsibility. Whether or not the parents care or not. The school cannot overstep their bounds.
 
Suing is the only way they will hesitate to do it again.

Disgusting that a sheriff let that happen. To protect and serve; my ass. Some fine police work there Lou.

How many adults end up saying things they wish they hadn't in police presence, being intimidated or coerced into admitting something - and now they are allowed to shake down a 12 year old?
 
Zangmonkey said:
When I was in school the school always had the option to enact penalties for activities done outside of school.

Fighting after school?
Smoking within sight of the building?
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That was on school property and there is a grey area where some schools are (or were) legally responsible for the child until they got home.

Needless to say this is way far outside those boundaries.
 
There's no issue at all about it. The kid's actually in the right. The school shouldn't be punishing the kid for things done outside of school property, and the kid shouldn't have to give up passwords for things that are meant to be private. The kid's not in the right for having a facebook account and sexual messages, but it's the parent's responsibility to discipline for those actions. If I found out this was going on with my daughter, first I would discipline her, then I would be suing the school.
 
I'm a bit in the "torn" camp on this. Especially not knowing what was said. As far as the password bit, the school was WAY out of bounds there and is probably why the ACLU is involved. But yeah, having a teenager and knowing all the crap that goes on with kids it's a grey area for me. At some point somebody has to step in and protect some kids. We all know there's way too many parents out there that won't do it or are just clueless. Personally I don't allow Facebook, until you're an adult and responsible for your own decisions.

Facebook/youtube is just an excuse for every stupid thing kids do or say to go on their permanent record.
 
clarkkent57 said:
1. First Amendment
2. FB Rules
3. Responsible parenting

No other issues but these, and not necessarily in this order.
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I'm not quite sure if the freedom of speech apply to children. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
 
I'm constantly astounded at the news when it comes to children and the problems they get into.

I had three children. From the very beginning, I taught them responsibility for themselves even before they could talk, by making sure they picked up their rooms at night as soon as they knew how to play with toys. We made a game of it.

Later, I had a bad reputation among the neighborhood parents as a strict disciplinarian, though this was invisible to my kids. All chores were divided evenly, and there was no playtime until all the work was done, and all the homework was completed. Television time was limited, and bedtime was enforced. We owned no videogames, but we owned a lot of books and bicycles. Consequently, my family stuck out like a sore thumb, compared to all the others.

My kids knew that lying was the ultimate crime in my house. I explained to them that my wife and I made decisions for their best benefit based upon the information we had, and if that information was false, then we couldn't make the best decisions for them. All three tried it, and all three found that the punishment wasn't worth the crime by the time they were 6, because lying came with a week's room restriction, and all distractions (toys, games, etc) from the lessons to be learned were removed from the room.

I made it clear, that just like my job was done with excellence to feed, house, and clothe my family, their school and schoolwork was their job. I told them I expected nothing less than all A's, but that the grade was simply to be result of tests and all homework and reading assignments done with excellence, along with any extra credit assignments that might be available. And I checked all the homework, and also helped tutor at home when the few problems sprang up. The school knew that I would take care of the parenting, and that they were not to dole out discipline/punishment; that was my job.

I was consistent; before any situation, I let them know what was expected of them, and the consequences if those expectations were not meant. On the very few occasions where those expectations were not met, I followed through with the punishment promised. Most of the time, however, I was lavish with praise and affection.

By the time college rolled around for all three, they all got free rides from the college of their choice in the fields that interested them, graduated with honors, and all three are now pursuing great jobs. They're happy, independent, and well-adjusted.

Now, I'm constantly told how lucky I am by the parents who raised kids to be adults with no education, have small children as the result of teen pregancy, who are minimum wage workers or on social programs, drug addicts, still living at home, and/or are jailbirds. I simply say thanks and acknowledged that I am blessed.

The truth is, however, that the luck happened when I got three kids, each with ten fingers, ten toes, and no special needs. It was my parental duty to make sure they stayed on the straight and narrow, making the most out of every day and each opportunity. It was a sacred trust.

I was this way because I had lost my first child, my daughter by my first wife, at age 1-1/2, when she was properly unsupervised by the sitter. I also grew up a poor, abused foster-child, who joined the military, and didn't get a chance at a college education until my kids were grown...and then went back to school myself, setting the same bar for myself as the kids.
 
well it all depends... what if it was some rant to beat up a teacher or fellow student? does the school have a right then to intervene even if the post was made away from school or the kids own time?

there is NO privacy online... if you post it your shouting it out to the world.

now forcing the kid to reveal their PW is a no no thou. and to call the kid in over sexual remarks? sorry but we dont live in the 50s with the Beav. That's a parents responsibility.
 
FndTheRver said:
The school is only got involved because the other child about whom the sex related comments were made complained to the school. You can't really fault the parents of the other kid for complaining to the school since the only reason these two kids met was more than likely because they attended the same school. If the girl's parents did not get involved soon enough to prevent the principal (or whoever) from strong arming the password out of her then that's their fault. That's like an adult criminal who confesses under duress to a cop and then complains later because they didn't ask for legal representation. I feel for the girl, I really do. What happened was unfair, however suing the school isn't going to rectify the situation, only potentially jeopardize school funding at that district.
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Regardless where they met, the school had absolutely nothing to do with this incident.
There would be NO problem if the school administrators had a lick of common sense.

How about this, and I don't have a PhD in education......simply call the second child's parents and tell THEM of the complaint, and keep your fucking nose out of the loop.....or maybe this: call the child's parents who allegedly made the facebook post, or how about this: call both sets of parents.:eek:

The school has no jurisdiction here. I hope they get their ass handed to them in court.

Let the parents handle this matter......it has NOTHING to do with school.
 
They not only forced her to give up her Facebook password but her personal email address and password as well and they sifted through all of her personal emails.
 
As an issue in general, online research leads me to believe that, as a rule, free speech for minors is upheld, limited to the situation. (Example: "search and siezure" is not illegal as applies to school lockers, in that the child has no expectation of privacy using it, according to code.) So it makes sense that the child has limited free speech in certain situations, much like most adults. (Speech might be free for adults, but according to my work agreement, I can get fired by exercising it beyond the limits to which I agreed by signing on the dotted line.)

So far, the latest and greatest seems to be that most (if not all) states support it, and so does just about everyone else except Clarence Thomas.
 
The link to the article doesn't appear to work for me (just takes me to the forums) but from the little I can gather from the [H] quote my take is as follows:

Obviously it is appropriate to limit sexual comments by 12 year olds, but the school has no right to violate the students privacy by accessing their facebook account or trying to demand usernames and passwords from the students.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038485681 said:
The link to the article doesn't appear to work for me (just takes me to the forums) but from the little I can gather from the [H] quote my take is as follows:

Obviously it is appropriate to limit sexual comments by 12 year olds, but the school has no right to violate the students privacy by accessing their facebook account or trying to demand usernames and passwords from the students.
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http://www.ky3.com/news/ktla-minnesota-student-sues-over-online-privacy-invasion,0,3404930.story
 
Torn on this as well. Law enforcement should know better than to question kids without a parent informed and permission given. It does get questionable when it happens on school grounds though. I do not know what school can or can not do with a LEO, especially if it is an assigned school resource officer.

The issues comes back to bullying. Because of the deaths, attacks and sadly suicides, schools are getting very aggressive on bullying. Problem for schools is when gossip happens outside school but then fights and teasing start happening at school. Then the school has to act. In this case they must have felt they needed to see what was said.

This might end up at a high level court. School has to protect kids, Kids should not have to share FB info. Who/What trumps the other?
 
clarkkent57 said:
I'm constantly astounded at the news when it comes to children and the problems they get into.

I had three children. From the very beginning, I taught them responsibility for themselves even before they could talk, by making sure they picked up their rooms at night as soon as they knew how to play with toys. We made a game of it.
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Wow, Parent teaching responsibility and consequences, it is amazing what happens when you do your job....
From personal experience it is a lot hard to enforce, mandate and stick to my guns when it comes to my 4 and 1 year old. No one said this would be easy, but damn you got to constantly remind the little buggers what the rules are and often be the bad guy. It is nice however to get complements on how well they behave they are and be able to take them out in public without fear that it is going to be a constant battle to have them listen. I hope it last.
 
The Gonz said:
As for me, I would GLADLY sign any waiver the school offered to allow them to monitor my child's online activities when the time comes that he wants a Facebook account (God help me.)
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How about instead of monitoring children's online habits, they actually TEACH the children. Gods know, whatever they pay the people "monitoring" should go to textbooks, paper and pens.
 
Could we all agree that one of the function's of Facebook is a diary, you know the type of book teenagers right there personal thoughts and lock it away for no one to see. With the acception Facebook lets you decide who see's what.

It's a analogy, but I believe a strong one. Try to shoot holes in that!
 
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