Judge Rules Facebook Passwords are Protected Under Law

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
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It may sound simplistic, but a US Judge reconfirmed that just because you are twelve years old, you still have rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution and as such are protected under the law. The sixth-grade student is represented by the ACLU and the case could go to court for civil rights violations for the school system forcing the student to turn over her Facebook password and subsequent search of her Facebook account and emails.

“Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the school house gate. The Supreme Court ruled on that in the 1970s, yet schools like Minnewaska seem to have no regard for the standard.”
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Ashbringer said:
School systems are scaring me. I thought I had it bad when I was young.
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Yeah but it's not like this is the first time schools have used their authority to coerce students into getting what they want, today it's Facebook, yesterday it was who stole someone's lunch or whatever.
 
I would have just gone with "I forgot", what are they going to do, torture me?
 
GotNoRice said:
I would have just gone with "I forgot", what are they going to do, torture me?
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I would just tell them to suspend me and enjoy the lawsuit.


I would also make quadruple sure to never log in from a school computer out of fear of a keylogger.
 
GotNoRice said:
I would have just gone with "I forgot", what are they going to do, torture me?
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No, they probably just say "we're going to suspend you from school and hold you back a year so that you can't graduate with any of your friends, and you can be that guy... or give us your password".

They can definitely screw you over.
 
I guess biometric passwords aren't needed anymore.
 
ninjaturtle said:
afirst thing in life I'm teaching my kids is to fight the power.
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Sounds like you could derail any chance of success before they even get the chance. Why not let them learn for themselves?
 
Shouldn't schools be teaching kids for a change instead of spying on their Facebook page?
 
While I'll agree the school was out of line doing this without a warrant, depending upon the wording the girl used and how often she would post this kind of stuff, they may have had reason to respond the way they did. Without more information, its difficult to make that call though. And being that the school mishandled the situation, it makes it difficult to call the kid on the carpet for her behavior.

Also: link
 
I don't know if this has been cleared up already, but does this case set precedent for prospective or current employers not being allowed to ask for your facebook password?
 
jtenorj said:
I don't know if this has been cleared up already, but does this case set precedent for prospective or current employers not being allowed to ask for your facebook password?
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I was wondering the same thing.
 
BBA said:
Sounds like you could derail any chance of success before they even get the chance. Why not let them learn for themselves?
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When they're young they have no idea what's going on. If the school system is screwing you over, and will hurt your education, it will hurt your future.

Give you an idea my local school system was caught labeling children with learning disabilities to be able to get funding from the government. They didn't have enough children with learning disabilities to get the funding. Whole school system was behind it, cause it gave them jobs. The expense was the children had to be held be in basement classes.

They were caught cause the government would send up people to test students to see if they were really learning disabled. Got caught, principal gets fired, and a bunch of students were missing out on their education because of this.

I have no sympathy for teachers asking for better pay and job stability.
 
Ashbringer said:
When they're young they have no idea what's going on. If the school system is screwing you over, and will hurt your education, it will hurt your future.

Give you an idea my local school system was caught labeling children with learning disabilities to be able to get funding from the government. They didn't have enough children with learning disabilities to get the funding. Whole school system was behind it, cause it gave them jobs. The expense was the children had to be held be in basement classes.

They were caught cause the government would send up people to test students to see if they were really learning disabled. Got caught, principal gets fired, and a bunch of students were missing out on their education because of this.

I have no sympathy for teachers asking for better pay and job stability.
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I am not sure of that case but I would not doubt it. I can definitively tell you that children who have defiant attitudes typically get singled out as having disabilities and placed in 'special needs' classrooms. The logic is simple: Schools are not allowed to discipline...therefore if your kid needs discipline, it's a special need. They will end up being medicated.

If you want them to get a good education, you do not want this to happen. A 5-6 year old with an attitude will be damaged for the majority of the rest of their lives.

It's your call on your kids but would serve them best if you do not taint their education based on your own perceptions. It's better to teach the kids to adapt, then handle the teachers in private.
 
Any organization/business that demands your passwords or tells you what you can and cannot say (on your own time) is corrupt. Some of these businesses honestly believe that they are their own government and have that level of authority over you. The US constitution is irreverent to them and their own opinion is law.

I would love to see the DoJ finally start cracking down on this BS.


/angry rant from personal experience
 
I don't understand why schools or any organisation feels they have the right to delve into your personal lfe. Guess what i work of ryou or go to school at your institution im not your slave.
 
trudeak said:
I don't understand why schools or any organisation feels they have the right to delve into your personal lfe. Guess what i work of ryou or go to school at your institution im not your slave.
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Risk mitigation.

Schools are now under non-trival physical and legal threats all the time caused by both students and staff. This is all a part of trying to reduce that risk as fark as possible.

Between kids shooting up schools and teachers fucking students (the opposite is true too)...the school wants to look at every hole and corner so they don't land up paying a multi-million dollar lawsuit (with 30% of it going to the lawyers).
 
^ risk mitigation requires a warrant, if it really is a risk.


https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=210644045634222

wtf is a 12 year old doing on FB anyway? FB won't even let 12 year olds register.
damn kids lying about their age.

Anyway, stupid school staff should retake their own US constitution/government class, and relearn all the rights people have.
It's stupid that you're allowed to bully kids verbally, but posting some shit on FB is not allowed.
 
xX_Jack_Carver_Xx said:
First lesson of Civics class now has to be.... "I want my lawyer". Even for 1st graders. :rolleyes:
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And "never talk to the cops". I still don't understand why people teach their children that cops are their personal protectors (they protect the peace, not individuals that is your own duty) and someone they should confide in.

Most kids would avoid a whole lot of trouble if they just shutup and only answered the cops what was absolutely necessary in "yes" or "no" replies.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Yeah but it's not like this is the first time schools have used their authority to coerce students into getting what they want, today it's Facebook, yesterday it was who stole someone's lunch or whatever.
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As long as I can remember, schools have also been checking lockers at random (with student present) for contraband. I graduated from high school 23 years ago, so at my time it was usually cheat sheets or spitball shooters or Playboy and Hustler magazines and occasionally packs of cigarettes.

Drugs? Guns? What were those? :(
 
On topic: I wonder what this means for work forces where employers and human resources require employee candidates to surrender their Facebook passwords.
 
Ashbringer said:
When they're young they have no idea what's going on. If the school system is screwing you over, and will hurt your education, it will hurt your future.

Give you an idea my local school system was caught labeling children with learning disabilities to be able to get funding from the government. They didn't have enough children with learning disabilities to get the funding. Whole school system was behind it, cause it gave them jobs. The expense was the children had to be held be in basement classes.

They were caught cause the government would send up people to test students to see if they were really learning disabled. Got caught, principal gets fired, and a bunch of students were missing out on their education because of this.

I have no sympathy for teachers asking for better pay and job stability.
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Don't blame the teachers on that one, blame upper level administration (principals and up). Many of them are paid based on the size of their staff underneath (which is determined by number of students). If they are mislabeling students to add staff positions, then instant pay increase. Rarely is a teacher's salary affected by this type of practice.
 
Azhar said:
On topic: I wonder what this means for work forces where employers and human resources require employee candidates to surrender their Facebook passwords.
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Protected under Law should mean they are protected as well, I don't see why it would be any different. Personally, I'd never accept a job at an employer that required my passwords... although its a bit moot since I don't use facebook! :D
 
In a second incident, the ACLU says school administrators forced R.S. to hand over her Facebook login credentials (e-mail address and password) and e-mail accounts after a boy’s mother complained that her son and the girl were talking about sex
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ok.. why was the school involved in an outside thing.. and why wasnt the boy given the same demand to hand over his facebook info?
 
kattana said:
ok.. why was the school involved in an outside thing.. and why wasnt the boy given the same demand to hand over his facebook info?
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I was just going to post that.

Probably because the boy's parents are weaklings and can't handle such a situation themselves.
 
Ducman69 said:
Protected under Law should mean they are protected as well, I don't see why it would be any different. Personally, I'd never accept a job at an employer that required my passwords... although its a bit moot since I don't use facebook! :D
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Well the reason I asked is because workforce employees aren't necessarily protected by the same laws as students because public schools are, well, public domain. Work forces on the other hand are private. You check your First Amendment rights at the door and pick it up when you leave. The Second Amendment doesn't apply at work places either quite obviously.

It's like saying you have First Amendment right in this forum. Kyle will happily tell you to shove the Constitution down your throat while he gives you the boot.
 
xX_Jack_Carver_Xx said:
First lesson of Civics class now has to be.... "I want my lawyer". Even for 1st graders. :rolleyes:
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...and the world wonders why America is full of lawyers and sue happy :rolleyes:

trudeak said:
I don't understand why schools or any organisation feels they have the right to delve into your personal lfe. Guess what i work of ryou or go to school at your institution im not your slave.
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As mentioned by others, making derogatory comments about others in public is no longer about your 'personal life'

BUT, demanding access to private areas is unlawful without a warrant
 
jtenorj said:
I don't know if this has been cleared up already, but does this case set precedent for prospective or current employers not being allowed to ask for your facebook password?
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Unfortunately even if it is illegal to ask for your facebook information companies will still ask for it. All they have to do is say "Password or we won't go any further in the interview process" or not even do that. They just won't call you back.
 
Awww facebook says the darnest things. I used to be against facebook but now I think it has a place (until the next big thing) in today's world. You just have to learn to use facebook to your own advantage... like speaking purely hypnotically here... one could make a bunch of dupe accounts and seed them with random, non-threatening data i.e. pictures of cats and likes of a few companies, then when someone, perhaps an employer asks for your password or does a search all they find is a bunch of random data that blends into the noise of the site. Just sayin.
 
BBA said:
Sounds like you could derail any chance of success before they even get the chance. Why not let them learn for themselves?
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FIRST teach your children to be good humans, THEN worry about teaching them monetary gain. I cant tell you how much money I have left on the table because i refuse to be a yes-man. I consider it a good investment in my soul, money be damned.
 
Azhar said:
Well the reason I asked is because workforce employees aren't necessarily protected by the same laws as students because public schools are, well, public domain. Work forces on the other hand are private. You check your First Amendment rights at the door and pick it up when you leave. The Second Amendment doesn't apply at work places either quite obviously.

It's like saying you have First Amendment right in this forum. Kyle will happily tell you to shove the Constitution down your throat while he gives you the boot.
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While Kyle is well within his rights to do so, it isnt 'checking your rights at the door'. Kyle is under no obligation to let you use his private platform for your speech, but that doesnt mean it has any actual bearing on the First, since the First is about you and the gov, only.
 
jtenorj said:
I don't know if this has been cleared up already, but does this case set precedent for prospective or current employers not being allowed to ask for your facebook password?
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I was thinking this as well. Hopefully so.
 
Azhar said:
Well the reason I asked is because workforce employees aren't necessarily protected by the same laws as students because public schools are, well, public domain. Work forces on the other hand are private. You check your First Amendment rights at the door and pick it up when you leave. The Second Amendment doesn't apply at work places either quite obviously.

It's like saying you have First Amendment right in this forum. Kyle will happily tell you to shove the Constitution down your throat while he gives you the boot.
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Your first and fourth amendment rights are rights you have against the government. Since the decision is talking about 1st and 4th amendment rights in a school, it's likely that the Court considers the school to be an extension of the government. Businesses are not the government (e.g., they can inhibit your freedom of speech as a term of employment), so this probably does nothing re companies asking for facebook login information.
 
jtenorj said:
I don't know if this has been cleared up already, but does this case set precedent for prospective or current employers not being allowed to ask for your facebook password?
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If it does it will only be in his jurisdiction, unless the school appeals and it goes to Circuit Courts or the Supreme Court.

Realistically, these rules never stop employers, as there's always a way for them to roundabout ask an illegal question. E.g.: They can't ask if you are a citizen or have a green card, but they can ask if you are legally allowed to work in the US. Same thing, different wording.

Instead of directly demanding your Facebook password, they might now require proof you have a clean online social life (which the only possible way to prove that is by...giving them your Facebook password).
 
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