Media Legal Controls Discussion
After reading the article and the chapter, it is clear that schools should invest new security technologies to monitor students' online lives (Kamenet, 2019). Schools should monitor students' email accounts, chats, and social media posts to track signs of a school shooting, suicidal thoughts, and other potential threats. More security measures are needed to protect students from self-harm, and violence to others (Kamenet, 2019). Students suffer from depression, social problems, homesickness, and other challenges. For example, Sarah Trimble-Oliver who is an information officer asserts that the Cincinnati Public Schools had 90 serious incidents. One serious incident is when a student attempted to cause self-harm (Kamenet, 2019).Therefore, social media monitoring using digital technologies will promote safety.
Understanding right to privacy
Students have the right to privacy as stated in the Fourth Amendment. For example, police should not search without a warrant, when in school, the government should not employ undercover cops to search students (ACLU, 2020). What happens is that police should search reasonably or should also search if they have a good reason that a student has violated school rules. It is important to note that surveillance is not an invasion of privacy. Rather, due to safety concerns, States are implementing measures such as social media monitoring to maintain security and avoid threats.
However, monitoring students' online lives is not an invasion of privacy. Schools should use surveillance technology not to violate the student's right to privacy but to keep them safe. As a result of violent incidents in schools, schools needed to strengthen the security measures to prevent threats (Kamenet, 2019). Schools should monitor the school ground using security officers and cameras to protect the students from harm. Also, the purpose of monitoring students' online lives is to determine if laws are violated, to determine the person's identity for law violation, and to gather the information that will be presented to the court if there is violation of law. Therefore, surveilling students' online lives is not a privacy invasion but it is a method of collecting and storing data (Kamenet, 2019). Therefore, there should be no tension that surveilling students' online lives is interfering with the individual privacy. Thus, schools should continue to use the current technologies to gather information and use the information in legal proceedings. To put it clearly, it important to understand that surveillance is all about monitoring student's behaviors and other activities to identify violence before they occur.
I don't think Eric should have been expelled from school and therefore, Eric and his parents have a case to sue the Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the invasion of privacy. This is because, when Eric propped up the plastic pellet gun, his friend took the picture and posted on Snapchat 'Don't come to school Monday". Note that this is a privacy invasion since his friend did not only take the picture but he went on to post on Snapchat and caused injury (FindLaw, 2020). His privacy was violated simply because he had reasonable expectations that his friend was not taking the picture. His friend took a picture and disclosed it to the public. He caused damages by revealing information that was not meant to be disclosed to the public.
Eric and his parents have a case to sue the Miami-Dade County Public Schools for defamation of character. This is because Eric says that he did not intend to shoot the school and he did not have any negative thoughts while doing the act. Despite his self-defense, Eric's reputation is damaged to the extent of being expelled from school. To make it worse, Eric's father says that everyone who will read the story will say that "there is no way in the world I am gonna put this child in my school". This indicates that Eric and his parents should sue the school for the defamatory statement that has damaged his reputation (Findlaw, 2020). For example, the article states that “a statement has caused injury if the subject of the statement lost work as a result of statement”. The schools concludes that Eric posed a threat and hereafter expelled from school. In other words, his friend defamed his name in public eye.
Peer Reviews
Student: John E
I am not in agreement with your statement that students' online presence should not be surveilled. You argue that surveillance of online behaviors is an invasion of privacy. However, it is important to note that invasion of privacy is a situation where someone discloses private information to the public and causes damage. Note that surveillance does not interfere with privacy. Its sole purpose is to control students and promote compliance. Also, surveillance focuses on shaping students' behaviors by creating a secure environment and helping them make sensible decisions and follow certain behaviors.
Student: Kayla M
I agree with your statement that student surveillance is paramount especially during this era of mass shootings and violence in schools. To only way to prevent mass shootings and ensure students’ safety is by using surveillance technology. It is important to note that surveillance is not an invasion of privacy but it is an appropriate method of detecting violent behaviors and preventing harm. Thus, schools should monitor students' online behaviors and ultimately, the school will protect those at risk of committing violence.
References
Kamenetz Anya. (2019). To Prevent School Shootings, Districts Are Surveilling Students’ Online Lives. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/752341188/when-school-safety-becomes-school-surveillance
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (2020). STUDENTS: YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY. https://www.aclu.org/other/students-your-right-privacy
FindLaw. (2020). Invasion of Privacy. Thomson Reuters. https://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/invasion-of-privacy.html
Findlaw. (2020). Libel, Slander, and Defamation Law: The Basics. Thomson Reuters https://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/defamation-law-the-basics.html
