Illinois can't seem to decide whether it's the home of midwestern gentlefolk or of the most draconian humans this side of Moscow.

One of the state's newest laws, for example, may have goodness at its heart. However, it may have something else in various of its extremities.

The law, which went into effect on January 1, is designed to curb cyberbullying, but it also could encourage schools to pry into students' personal lives.

KTVI-TV reported that the law was already making some parents deeply uncomfortable. That's because one of its stipulations is troubling.

Indeed, this week Illinois parents began receiving a letter from school authorities informing them that their children's social media passwords may now have to be handed over, as part of school discipline. Motherboard reports that it obtained one of these letters. It reads, in part:

School authorities may require a student or his or her parent/guardian to provide a password or other related account information in order to gain access to his/her account or profile on a social networking website if school authorities have reasonable cause to believe that a student's account on a social networking site contains evidence that a student has violated a school disciplinary rule or procedure.

You might imagine that this stipulation only applies to school computers and activity on school premises. It does not. The schools may ask for passwords and search on the basis of any posting by a student at any time and in any place.

And who will decide what is reasonable cause? Leigh Lewis, superintendent of Triad Community Schools Unit District 2, told Motherboard that if someone didn't cooperate, there might be trouble. Not detention, criminal charges.

Those of sharp eyes and, perhaps, parenting experience, will wonder just what private information the schools might encounter as they search for their alleged evidence.

As one parent who had received the latter, Sarah Bozarth, told KTVI: "It's one thing for me to take my child's social media account in there and open it up for the teacher to look at (...) but to have to hand over your passport and personal information to your accounts to the school is just not acceptable."

I have contacted Illinois' Board of Education to ask how educators justify what seems like the potential for a considerable invasion of privacy. I will update, should I hear.

What if, in performing a search, the school discovers that a student is involved in, say, criminal activity or a sexual relationship? What if it discovers that the student has a particular medical problem?

Will it pinkie promise not to tell? I contacted Lewis to ask her views and will update, should she reply.

The whole idea of an authority being able to demand social media passwords has undergone some challenges over the last couple of years. This year, Oregon became the latest state to decide that colleges and employers would be forbidden from demanding social media usernames and passwords.

It's one thing for authorities to observe what employees, students or suspects are posting on social media. It's surely another to think that they have the automatic right to simply demand what is quite obviously personal information. In Illinois, it will all likely come down to the idea of reasonable cause. (No case has yet emerged of a school exercising its alleged right to ask for a password.)

Three years ago, however, 12-year-old Riley Stratton sued her Minnesota schools district after she claimed she'd been coerced into revealing her Facebook password. Last year, the case was settled with the Minnewaska Schools District paying Stratton $70,000. In this case, Stratton was accused of writing nasty things about her hall monitor.

Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities -- something to which all users agree (perhaps unknowingly) when signing up -- has a section 4.8. It reads: "You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account."

Clearly, cyberbullying is awful and potentially dangerous. However, where will the balance be struck between the need to find the alleged bully and the protection of someone's basic rights?


dangerous? maybe someone can enlighten me on why it's dangerous...

Cyberbullying-linked suicides rising, study says


Social networking sites used in nearly half of cases

The victims were more often female, with 24 female cases compared with 17 males, researchers found.

The researchers also catalogued the type of electronic media or social media used.

Social networking sites were used in 48 per cent of all the suicide cases, while messaging (text, pictures or video) were used in 25 per cent of the cases.

Facebook was used in cyberbullying most often, cited in 27 per cent of cases, while Facebook combined with messaging of pictures, videos and texts were used in 13 per cent.


Cyberbullying Research Summary: Cyberbullying and suicide

Highlights from the Research:
•20% of respondents reported seriously
thinking about attempting suicide

•All forms of bullying were significantly
associated with increases in suicidal ideation

•Cyberbullying victims were almost twice as
likely to have attempted suicide compared to
youth who had not experienced cyberbullying


Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases

i only blame the person committing suicide, not everyone else... no one puts a gun in anyones hand, and if people are that weak minded to take their own life, then they get what they deserve... the liberals want to put a label on everything, and if someone wants to take their own life, they will, regardless of the reason... maybe helping the people instead of blaming the cause would be better?

I believe strongly in civil liberties. That said, there is a gray area concerning civil liberties for children. Cyberbullies cause death. The problem has gotten bad enough to create bills targeted at protecting children and that that means access to the source. Getting the passwords with "reasonable cause" probably is a good idea. How it is implemented can be a boon or a boondoggle.

how is it determined? is me disagreeing with you bulling? people with mental problems can see anything as bullying... just another tool/way for the liberals to control our lives... children are being conditioned at an early age to be conformists, so they will be easier to control in the future

in my view, anything posted on a public site is not private by its very nature,, whether or not a password was required to log into the site

emails, private,,

posts on facebook pages, myspace, etc,, not so private at all

with the exception of those places where its shown that one is posting with ANONYMOUS reference, not meaning to be connected to the post

but the easy way around it is to make screen shots of all things,, if they were meant for your eyes, it should be legal to copy it

and , with consent, to hand them over as proof of someone bullying or whatever,,,

then why have passwords then? get rid of the passwords and problem solved...

IMO, people worrying about bullying just need to toughen up, if they are that weak minded, then they need some serious help... everyone gets bullied, it's a part of life and growing up... life and death are the ultimate equality, not fair, nor unfair, just the way it is...

the passwords are there so other people cant go on in your place

they attach you to your profile/screenname/ or whatever

there is a password here but any of the thousands of others with passwords here have the same access to what I post,, so its not 'private' at all


,,,



children are susceptible to being very impressionable,, they are in the stages of developing their skill in being 'tough',,, and during that process need our protection,,,,,not our judbment

while i agree about protecting children, but only to a degree... over protection just ensures they won't have what it takes to survive in todays world...

your ISP and device/computer all have digital signatures, there's no need for passwords...

I agree, there is OVERPROTECTION,,,
however, as I am viewing this thread, I don't see any digital signature < I just see a screen name

and it leads to the assumption that the same person that always uses that name is still using it,,,,


because other people can use that computer,,,

devices/computers, anything that hooks up on the web has a digital signature... if your computer has a password, then that can't happen.. i use firefox, and all my passwords are readily available in the options, anyone on this computer can access any site i have a password to... but since my comp is password protected, they can't unless they know the password to my computer... if that particular device is yours, then they really don't need a password to FB to find out what your saying... only problem is that you would only be able to use your devices to post anything on your accounts....

haven't you wondered how they find people that use anonymous names on the net?

Holy rape of constitutional protections!


And, allowing a non-law enforcement entity, to conduct warrantless searches on a whim.

I figure they have taken training and received a paycheck for that specific skill, as well as having resources

but average joe/jill does not

liberals don't understand that... teaching kids early THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS...