Lower Merion schools settle webcam spying affair

The Philadelphia school district that was sued for remotely and secretly taking pictures of students in their homes, using webcams on laptops issued to the students, has agreed to pay $610,000 to settle the lawsuits. The Lower Merion School District's Board of School Directors said in a statement that it will pay $175,000 to plaintiff Blake Robbins and $10,000 to plaintiff Jalil Hassan. An additional $425,000 will be paid out to cover the plaintiffs' legal fees. Earlier this year, lawyers for high schooler Robbins and his family sued the district, saying the 15-year-old had been photographed without his knowledge. In a later motion, they said thousands of shots had been taken, including "pictures of Blake partially undressed and of Blake sleeping." They also said images of visited Web sites and of instant messaging exchanges had been recorded. Hassan also sued, and the incident sparked an investigation by local law enforcement agencies and the FBI. For more of this story, read School district settles Webcam privacy case on CNET News.