Social network monitoring
p2p news / p2pnet: Following attention from online sexual predators, a number of sites such as Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace.com are now seen as distinct threats rather than harmless social networks, prompting Chicago’s Lake County school to make students accountable for what they post on them.
“The board of Community High School District 128 voted unanimously on Monday to require that all students participating in extracurricular activities sign a pledge agreeing that evidence of ‘illegal or inappropriate’ behavior posted on the Internet could be grounds for disciplinary action,” says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
“District officials won’t regularly search students’ sites, but will monitor them if they get a worrisome tip from another student, a parent or a community member,” says the story.
Students, “active in extracurricular activities, from team sports to school clubs,” will have to sign an agreement saying if any evidence of “illicit behavior” is found, “they could be disciplined,” sats MTV, going on:
“According to District 128 officials, about 80 percent of the district’s 3,200 students are involved in one or more extracurriculars.”
Students and parents alike will have to sign a pldege to be used for all activities for the upcoming school year, says the story, adding:
“The wording asks students to agree that they won’t use alcohol, tobacco or drugs or ‘exhibit gross misconduct or behavior/citizenship that is considered detrimental to his/her team or school.’ Additionally, it says that, ‘maintaining or being identified on a blog site which depicts illegal or inappropriate behavior will be considered a violation of this code’.”
Also See:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer – School district to monitor student blogs, May 23, 2005
MTV – Students Face School Discipline For ‘Inappropriate’ MySpace Posts, May 24, 2006
NOTE: p2pnet is being sued by Sharman Networks and Nikki Hemming, ceo of p2p application Kazaa. “The suit is a little odd, since P2PNet.net is a champion of peer-to-peer file-sharing, which is the same business that Kazaa is in,” says The Globe & Mail. If you’d like to help p2pnet, please go here.
May 26th, 2006 at 2:06 am
Somehow, I miss the point. I thought it was the kids that needed protection from predators; but as I read this, it would seem that the school district will be monitoring sites to make sure that the kids don’t go hustling or trying to make themselves available or desirable. Is anyone reading who can clarify this for me?