Privacy Law

High School's Internet Safety Lesson Riles Students Upset That Info Was Shared at Assembly

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High school students in Old Saybrook, Conn., were not happy when their various Facebook photos and status updates were displayed at a freshman school assembly. But administrators say the presentation was meant to teach students a lesson about Internet safety, specifically privacy settings.

Many students were upset that the school didn’t ask for permission before showing their information, which a school resource counselor pulled from Twitter and Tumblr.

“I just think it’s a violation of privacy,” a junior at the school told the New Haven Register.

Oliver Barton, principal of Old Saybrook High School, said that the assembly was meant to show students how public their tweets, online profiles and photos are if their privacy settings aren’t strict enough. He didn’t think the pictures shown would embarrass anyone, he told the paper, and the pictures in question were publicly accessible. About 20 photos were assembled by the school resource officer.

Hat tip: Kashmir Hill’s blog The Not-So Private Parts.

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