Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Mark Parbus — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:22:00 -0000

It is truly disturbing when a person in a position of trust abuses his power to the sacrifice of others.

Last night, a principal at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina verbally abused and threatened physical removal by police a group of parents attending a school football meeting.

http://www.babyboomerjourne...

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Guest — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:35:00 -0000

I see school officials are branching out from first, not doing their duty to protect kids from bullies; (every school has a anti-bully policy - the problem is, school officials refuse to enforce it) to becoming the bully themselves. If morons like this are are in charge of the school, how can anyone be surprised by low grades and dropping out?

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

valerie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:00:57 -0000

I hope she receives every dime x 100 for what they did...it is unexceptible and all should be fired period.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

rubken — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:25:03 -0000

I am surprised that the school would not have a policy guiding staff in situations such as this. If it was seen as serious enough to warrant access to any private area that was not school property surely her parents should have been contacted.

Do parents have any guardianship over the online identities of minors?

The actions of the staff seem ignorant at best, particularly in a nation as litigious as the USA.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Facebooker — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:45:33 -0000

I think nature has introduced a tax on stupidity that is applied automatically to those who manifest it. If you're stupid enough to post on Facebook stuff that could get you in trouble and even more so if you're stupid enough to hand over your credentials to obviously stupid people, you deserve a compounded stupid tax. Good job, keep at it!

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Gonzobot — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:44:44 -0000

Maybe the dumb bitch should've learned SOMEWHERE in her 16 years that there is a word you can use called 'NO'. I guess being an impressionable girl in high school, she had no idea that this was an option for her. So dumb. Anyways, those teachers should have their logins posted on a school bulletin board as punishment - guaranteed those names and passwords will work on other sites, such as their bank or government pages. Let them know what its like to have privacy forcibly and knowingly removed forever.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Clem — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:26:08 -0000

HA! That's my first reaction to this story! But that would just get me put in jail now wouldn't it.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Clem — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:50:13 -0000

In my opinion, the only adults that should be able to get a child's password for anything online is the "PARENTS"! Any adults that believe that they have the authority to do such a thing should not only be sued but LOSE THEIR JOB! AND BE JAILED!! It's obvious that they think they have a right. POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY and STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES!! This isn't even my kid and I actually want these adults careers ended! They better learn to dig ditches.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Aayush — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:31:07 -0000

LOL

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Aayush — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:28:15 -0000

absolutely!

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

BDouglas — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:44:50 -0000

Last time I checked it was illegal to access a computer account without permission. Getting permission under false pretenses (aka "social engineering") is equally as unlawful. Why isn't there a criminal complaint filed as well? Just pressing charges will make the civil case that much more likely to succeed.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

David Ortez — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:21:22 -0000

Kirzen,

Sorry you FAIL ... how can you state that the Plaintiff does not have to prove that she was coerced? Her allegations are not considered facts until they are proven ... remember the Golden Rule: You are Innocent until you are proven Guilty.

Apparently you did not actually read the court documents and have come up with your own legal opinion without considering the facts.

Let me remind folks that 90% of lawsuits are settled out of court so perhaps this may not even reach the court room and thus arguments will never be necessary.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Digital Jedi — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:04:37 -0000

Maybe because it's illegal.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Digital Jedi — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:03:48 -0000

Except their not asking for your personal/log in information. Their asking to be your 'Friend" basically.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Digital Jedi — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:58:12 -0000

Actually, the lawsuit IS claiming that her 1st, 9th and 10th amendment rights were violated in Count 1 and Free Association is part of count 2. Whether that's right or not, I don't know, but it is there in the document, so it's not like the blog author made it up.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

aawindoze2 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:34:23 -0000

Wow, so why didnt this girls dad go down and beat the holy crap out of the idiot that coerced her?

RT
www.anon-web-tools.tk

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Kirzen — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:51:11 -0000

Thank you for your legal opinion on the matter, but you fail.

The plaintif in this case doesn't have to prove that she was coerced, she simply has to prove that either she was coerced into providing the information, or that she could expect that the confidential information in the private sections on her facebook would be kept private. Examine the circumstances, either they asked her to provide it, and counseled her such that the information would go no further, then breached her privacy, or they coerced her into providing her details in some other manner. Do you honestly expect, asked "Please give us your password, we make no promises about what we'll do with it" that your average teenager with potentially damaging information locked behind that password would simply hand it over?

The author of this blog is making some sweeping statements about free speech and freedom of association that are complete legal bullshit (because free speech sells especially well in the media circus) but regarding privacy, that part will be laughably easy to prove, and intentional infliction of emotional distress will also be relatively easy to prove depending on the nature of the information made public, all she has to do to prove that portion is to prove that the administration should have known that making that information public would cause her humiliation or disciplinary action.

The fact of the matter is, it will be very difficult for them to defend their need to have access to her account, my back pocket theory regarding what they were after is that another student approached the faculty about something on that account, be it teasing or cyberbullying, or potentially racy photos, or any number of "inappropriate" items, and they took it upon themselves to force the password out of her to police it themselves... And they should have their hands cut off for it.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Van Kochkarian — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:47:40 -0000

Think about what the reason behind all this is before quickly blaming the school.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

should have — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:48:04 -0000

yes, they 'should have' talked about it. but it seems that instead for two years, according to the brief, that they used the information maliciously against her. please think beyond crushes or gossip... the information could include birth control, abortion, rape, who knows what.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

aznballa161 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:28:17 -0000

yeah... im sure she have never used facebook at school. LOL what a lie.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

David Ortez — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:14:55 -0000

Actually the burden is on the Plaintiff to prove that she was coerced to provide this password ... if that cannot be established than everything else is irrelevant. As a Plaintiff, your allegations are not automatically accepted as the truth until you can prove the facts of the case.

Once the Plaintiff can prove that she was coerced then there is a burden that the act caused everything else. I find this to be an act that will hard to overcome if the School District provides competent counsel to the defendants which I do not doubt.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Jeff — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:07:25 -0000

I had big brothers big sister send me an email a couple of days ago asking for my credentials for all social networking sites or face my match being terminated.

http://www.reddit.com/r/red...

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Amanda — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:57:11 -0000

You go girl!

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

hall monitor — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:39:47 -0000

This story made http://detentionslip.org, another one of TIME's best blogs! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.

Re: Abuse of Power: High School Admins Coerce Cheerleader for Facebook Password

Eddie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:18:57 -0000

I hope that this school district gets sued right into the ground, so hard, that they have to question whether they'll ever be able to operate again. What they did was absolutely wrong, and I truly hope that the MORON administrators involved are crapping down both legs right now, because they know they're going to get annihilated in court!