I do not do social media (as a matter of fact, this list is my only venture into media-based communications with strangers) but I hear about it all the time. I wonder if what we need is a definition of 'outside'. When you are on Facebook, are you 'outside', as if you were dancing in a public park? Or are you 'inside', as in your living room. Is Facebook the equivalent of 'screaming at someone down the street' or is it 'a private letter sent to a close friend'?

I have a friend who was raised in a small town, and he has a dramatically different 'drawing of lines of privacy' than anyone else I know. He points out that in a small town, everyone knows what everyone else is doing (and when his little sister cut her finger almost off in the pump gears, the town doctor already had prepped for the situation by the time she arrived - a neighbor had seen it happen and called ahead).

In a public scenario, if you see kids throwing bricks at someone's windows, it is 'public' and neighbors or police are reasonable to respond. So I ask again: Is Facebook 'inside' or 'outside'?

Jan

At one time human who were stalkers or peeping Toms or were doing experiments on humans as if they were rats in a maze were called sociopaths and were incarcerated in asylums. Nowadays they run the asylum.

Don't worry, Chairman Wimpy Leader smiles his approval upon such Obamanable socioeconomic stimulants to take us yon into a Marxist Utopia. And anyone who does not like it is a racist terrorist in need of an IRS audit.

This is a major issue. No contract, gobs of money just flowing to this group who is spying on kids.... Expenditures without any approval... And it's not like it was $500.00 for copy paper.. Two million tax dollars fraudulently illegally used. To spy on teenagers. Brilliant.
I'm surprised there isn't a mob outside of the superintendent's house calling for his head!

The government started this, then the police jumped on board, and now it's the school. What or who's next? This is reaching insane levels.

Don't think you can call it spying if the data viewed is public.
The only issue I have with this is wasting money on it.

It appears as if the word "privacy" has lost its meaning since such a thing no longer exists.

It's interesting they think the program has to be secret to be effective. Not only do they think the program is a good idea, they think it requires no one know they're doing it.