is it ok for schools to use facebook to gather info on students to punish them?

from news lite tv

Facebook fines for Oxford students
April 18, 2008 4:46 PM
Oxford University has used Facebook to gather information on graduating students behaviour, and then fined them £10,000.

Supervisors used the social networking site to gather evidence on which students had displayed "disorderly behaviour" after exams.

Fines of £40 to £500 were then issued for “trashings” where students celebrate by spraying champagne, confetti, eggs and even raw meat on each other.
Trashings have been a problem at the University for decades with the cleanup costs sometimes running to thousands of pounds.

While it has traditionally been hard to catch the perpetuators it seem the move to tracking culprits online has helped. This year saw a five times increase in the sum of the fines.

If the students are engaging in activity that causes damage to the school and they are posting it in public, I don't see the problem and the school has a right to claim damages.
However, if this resorts to punishing behavior that doesn't hurt the school - if they cleaned up after they made the mess or drinking on a dry campus - then I'd say no.

all kidz shuld suffer

Facebook is in the public domain.

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Originally Posted by goodthink

Facebook is in the public domain.

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I don't think public domain means what you think it means.

what do they expect when they make thier stupidity accessable to others like that?

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Originally Posted by Mr Karl

what do they expect when they make thier stupidity accessable to others like that?

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indeed..reminds me of what happened recently here in central florida...a bunch of high school students invited another student over their house and beat her up and video taped the whole thing. they said they were going to post the video on ******* and youtube..lol.. i guess they thought after posting it publicly over the internet and beating the girl so bad she ended up in the hospital that they wouldnt get caught or something..so stupid...


if the internet is the tool that authorities need to use to get evidence, then i think they should use it..

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Originally Posted by Senior_Diablo

indeed..reminds me of what happened recently here in central florida...a bunch of high school students invited another student over their house and beat her up and video taped the whole thing. they said they were going to post the video on ******* and youtube..lol.. i guess they thought after posting it publicly over the internet and beating the girl so bad she ended up in the hospital that they wouldnt get caught or something..so stupid...


if the internet is the tool that authorities need to use to get evidence, then i think they should use it..

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Wow, that is some really awful Darwinism in action.

anything on *******, facebook, or live journal then the authorities can use it.

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Originally Posted by Solace_in_the_snow

anything on *******, facebook, or live journal then the authorities can use it.

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I kind of think that any information which is out in the open is fair game for investigation. If someone has private information, I do not think any authorities should necessarily be able to get it without the same normal subpoena requirements as to access any account, whether online or otherwise.

No different then police using ******* pics etc to peg kids for doing illegal drugs.

If you got pictures of kids throwing raw eggs on the wall or spraying grafitti in the bathrooms or something then yeah nail em. Kids stupid enough to take pics of them being abortion advertisements to show off deserve punishment,

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Originally Posted by Amelia G

Wow, that is some really awful Darwinism in action.

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yeah. it started out as one girl insulting another that basically led to assault and i guess kidnapping..there were like 8 teens involved other then the victim..2 boys were look outs while other girls beat her up and one recorded it..

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Originally Posted by Amelia G

I kind of think that any information which is out in the open is fair game for investigation. If someone has private information, I do not think any authorities should necessarily be able to get it without the same normal subpoena requirements as to access any account, whether online or otherwise.

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interesting scenario. I know that they need a warrant to access files that are on your physical hard-drive, as in they have to take your computer. While searching your pad according to procedure they aren't just supposed to go willy nilly and "hmm. this might be interesting...". Of course anything that they happen to see is fair game, but for the actual searching they are supposed to have an outline as part of the warrant for what they are specifically looking for. they especially have to make note of what they are going to take, and I think that they actually need a new warrant to take the items. It's not really like CSI where they just take anything and everything, including the persons car w/o any apparent additional warrants.

(or even better when they just grab the hairs and fibers and blood swabs right off the guy without even asking. that'd be great, the dude could be soaked in the victims blood and any lawyer could get him off scott free because they didn't follow procedure and the evidence couldn't be used in court.)

that being said, it does beg the question what kind of procedure they have to follow when it comes to stuff on the net and things that can be remotely accessed, meaning they never have to go to your house or take anything. Any of our resident law nuts know about this one?

so, if the internet eventualy becomes inadmissable that could lead to things like witnesses and confessions becoming so too?

if your going to do something keep off the internet, dont make videos, or take picture. there is long line of screw ups that keep doing this.

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Originally Posted by Amelia G

I don't think public domain means what you think it means.

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I was referring to the definition put out by Merriam Webster:

2 : the realm embracing property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone

Everything placed on Facebook is open to the public when your security settings allow anyone to browse your photos and so on without discrimination. People can view and take the material freely.

People have a false sense of privacy on the internet, like a person picking their nose in the car at a red light.

what if you are just scratching?