Is this illegal?

Okay, like I said in another thread, my school makes us get laptops when we're going into high school. But this year, they wanna put a PERMENANT internet filter that follows you wherever you go (it doesn't just work at school). It blocks bad sites and it could possibly block good sites, like DU, under the category of a messageboard. I was wondering, is this illegal? They're trying to control what websites we visit in the privacy of our own homes. Also, they supposedly have the power to uninstall instant messaging programs like AIM and the such. Uggh, this just makes me really pissed off.

Just wanna see y'all's input, and by the way my school is private so it's not under any government regulations, so that might make it harder to determine whether or not what they're doing is illegal.

due to the obvious privacy concerns, you could probably get out of it if your parents raised some hell

If you bought it then you control it. They have no legal right to dictate your use of your own computer on your own time. I'd definitely protest, and if that doesn't work I'd call the ACLU.

But first, get it in writing exactly what the school's policy is and how they plan to implement this.

Seems like this could be addressed with different profiles activated--one that disallows content they want when you are on their network and another login profile that you would use at home--or wherever, unrestricted. The catch 22 might be if they can make a case that this is a security issue so you might have to be prepared to demonstrate fairly rigorous firewall and virus protection procedures and practices.

but if they're going to require strict filters for security reasons (on site) then they should be responsible for installing the profile so that their security settings don't restrict private use of the computer.

The Constitution doesn't apply (although there might be some wiggle room if the school gets federal funds), and the ACLU can't do anything about it. However, a capable computer expert should be able to remove the block; no need to mention it to the school at all.

All the adults around me are all FOR it...:mad:

They're all caught up in the whole "INTERNET FILTERS KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE" bullshit....

You or the school?

(some of us bought them from the school-i didn't because the ones from the school were like $2000-mine was only about $1400)

but their purchased for school use, i guess. But this is MY computer, not the schools. We keep these computers and we buy them ourselves.

...who can't buy a $1400 laptop. How'd you manage to work up the cash to do that?

somehow. The school alone costs like $9000 a year to go to. i don't know how they work up the cash...not everyone at my school is like SUPER rich...:shrug:

...but in my socio-economic bracket in my corner of the world, being able to spend $9000 a year on a child's education makes one rich.

I could be wrong but I suspect you have it better than you realize.

hell, i can spend $400 on clothes. No you're right, for a long time I complained about how "bad" my life was (i was failing classes, etc-I wouldnt apply myself) but now, I look back and think that I really don't have it bad. I could be a 14 year old girl in Iraq and have to live in fear ALL the time. Or I could be living below the poverty line in the USA.

Well, let me change that to MOST of the kids at my school are pretty wealthy. But some of them are there on scholarships....

..and that includes a permanent internet filter. They also do not have the power to uninstall anything either. If they provide it for you they can do whatver they heck they please.

Private schools have a whole lot of power over the students and what the do because they can tell you like they did me, "Your parents are spending a lot of money for you to attend here and we don't intend to waste it. We will gladly send you to the public school."

And they did to many at the drop of a hat or whatever.

I'm not defending the school Tinny tiara just has to bite the bullet.

Cause I don't wanna switch schools in the middle of High School. The public schools in my area aren't the best and if I was to go to a public school, I would have to move to Madison or Ridgeland (not happening). And my mom would not send me to another private school...

My HS was so very strict but it was so very good. My father and 2 uncles went there and so I felt like I had to finish. I value the education that I got and would not give it up for anything for they taught us to think. Good luck as you begin your life, Tiaras.

for all the flaws my school has, it's still the best school in the state. And like #100 in the country. i think?

the system after you get off school grounds. Whose laptop is it?

Are you (or your parents) paying for the laptop?

What kind of filter is it? Software-based, or hardware?

Will you be connecting to the 'Net through a school network, or are you free to access the 'Net any way you want from home?

The easiest one is using a proxy.Your connection will be slower but you can go

on any site you want.

More info: http://www.stayinvisible.com/

If they do, then they're within their rights. If you purchase it however, I don't see how they can force you to load software on your own laptop.

Doesn't matter who owns the laptop, it depends on who owns the service. Messageboards like DU, FR, and Kos should not be used in education nor should any of the IM programs. IMO

I agree with you that while at school the school should be able to determine all of that. However, Tinfoil Tiaras said that the filter would be permantly installed, and would affect the use of the internet outside of school. When a kid is home, the parents should be monitoring and filtering, not the school. What if the parents want to use the laptop to surf the internet?

For example, under my child's account there is filtering but under my account on the same computer, there is not.

Another example is that my child can use IM at home but not at school using their IP.

Most Filter's (like websense) block sites without ANY human review. Plenty of legitimate liberal sites that could, in theory, be used for a Government class are blocked by this process.

Also, its easy as hell to get around. :) ;)

but it beats having to get rid of browser hijackers every other day. A lot of the popular sites among kids(non educational) seem to be full of them.

that they don't have control over your laptop, however they do have control over whether you can attend their school or not.

So, I think it would be illegal to force you to put that software on your computer if you were required to go there, but since you are not, they can simply make it a requirement for attendance. So it would be legal. Much like a catholic school teacher could be fired for having an affair.

but I know I'm not gonna change schools. There's very limited options where i live. To go to public school I would have to move to Madison or Ridgeland (not happening) and my mom won't send me to any of the other private schools in town.

If the child or the child's parents bought the laptop, then no entity, public or private, has the right to regulate its use in the privacy of one's own home. Any filter applied by the school is clearly illegal.

why can't they require you to use it in the way they dictate?

If they can require you to buy a laptop, I don't see why they can't require you to buy a laptop that functions in the way they specify (i.e., gives them control). They can argue that you can buy another computer to do your own stuff on, but you have to have a school computer, too.

edited to add: that doesn't mean I think the control is right, just that I think it is probably legal.

though some may buy from the school.

Just wanted to answer a widely asked question...

And, no, sadly my mom WON'T raise hell. She's for this stupid thing...:mad:

it doesn't matter what the law is. Personally, I think if your Mom was opposed to this and raised a stink they'd back off, but since she won't I think you're going to have to suck it up or learn a lot more about hacking computers...

after all, at graduation, I did get the Computer Award...:rofl:

I. Am. Such. A. Nerd. :P

O8)

BTW...nerds rule!

You just have to tell it to use the external as the primary drive when you boot up at home. Then they can't complain about what's installed on your machine, because the external disk should not travel to and from school with you. (You should be able to save things to your internal disk when you are booting from an external disk, and vice versa.)

We do this all the time for work, since our we use our laptops for both work and home. I use an external firewire drive for my windows installation, and use the internal Mac drive for everything else.

Besides, you need an external drive for backup purposes. (I'm very serious here, not being flippant at all. And you want to back everything up at least once a week, and you want to have at least two historic backups. So if you have a 60 GB internal hard drive, make sure you pick up a 200 GB external.)

The big issue with IM programs is that they can be a quick route to a school-wide infection, and believe me, 300 laptops with the latest version of a trojan horse that's sucking up all of the bandwidth to spam the Nigerian scam to a million email addresses.... From a network administrator's point of view, such things suck royally. And while you may be smart enough to know not to download from an unknown source, or go to an adware site.... Think about the most technophobic person in your school.... Do you trust your machine in his hands?

Use a Circumventor dude...

Easy as hell to set up. :)

www.peacefire.org
try that site

test testtesttest testes

It did what you said.
However, when we went to the meeting about the laptops, the parents had to sign the terms of agreement which included what you say.
However, if we chose not to sign, then the student didn't receive the laptop.
Our school was public.
It isn't illegal if this is all disclosed as terms of use.:(