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Spy High, a multi-part documentary streaming on Prime Video, revisits how the district captured tens of thousands of images of students inside their homes.
The controversy began when 15-year-old Blake Robbins was called into the principal’s office and accused of drug activity based on a webcam photo taken in his bedroom. The object in question was later identified as candy, as per a CBS News report dated October 21, 2010.
Spy High highlights how the school’s TheftTrack system, meant to recover stolen laptops, took photos every 15 minutes, leading to over 56,000 images being recorded without consent, according to a TIME report dated April 8, 2025.
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Lawsuits filed by students like Robbins and Keron Williams raised concerns about racial profiling and digital privacy. Although the FBI investigated the matter, no criminal charges were filed, as reported by NPR on February 24, 2010.
5 key insights about the School Spying Scandal in Spy High
The school surveillance case involving Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion School District is the central focus of Spy High, a multi-part documentary streaming on Prime Video. The series revisits the 2010 incident in which school-issued laptops were allegedly used to monitor students in their homes, sparking legal action and national debate. Below are five key insights about the events explored in Spy High.
1) Surveillance uncovered through a disciplinary case
In November 2009, 15-year-old Blake Robbins was called into the assistant principal’s office at Harriton High School and shown a photo of himself in his bedroom, holding what school officials believed to be drugs. The image had been taken using the webcam of his school-issued laptop.
Robbins later revealed that the object in question was candy, specifically Mike and Ikes, as per a CBS News report dated October 21, 2010. This encounter prompted the Robbins family to file a federal lawsuit, suspecting that the school had been monitoring students without consent.
2) Over 56,000 images captured using theft track
The surveillance was tied to a remote software called TheftTrack, which was supposedly installed to locate lost or stolen laptops. As reported by TIME on April 8, 2025, the software captured over 56,000 images from 36 student laptops, including photos of students in bedrooms and even while sleeping.
The lawsuit revealed that Robbins’ laptop had never been reported missing. Internal emails obtained later showed that school officials knew the device's location but continued activating the webcam.
3) Public backlash and student impact
As the case gained national attention, public support for the Robbins family began to shift. Their past legal history was widely discussed, and students, including Blake and his sister Paige, faced bullying at school. Meanwhile, other students, such as Keron Williams and Jalil Hasan, joined the lawsuit.
Both students were monitored despite their laptops never being marked as stolen. Spy High presents these students’ experiences, highlighting the psychological impact of being secretly monitored. Williams, who initially remained anonymous, later chose to go public in the docuseries.
4) No criminal charges were filed
Despite the scale of surveillance and the public outcry, federal investigators chose not to pursue criminal charges. As reported by NPR on February 24, 2010, the FBI initiated an investigation into potential privacy violations but ultimately closed the case.
The Lower Merion School District maintained that TheftTrack was used solely for recovering missing laptops. In a statement reported by PEOPLE on March 24, 2025, the district said it "did not participate" in the docuseries and cited findings from an independent investigation, which found "no evidence" of intentional spying.
5) Civil settlements and ongoing privacy concerns
The Robbins family settled their lawsuit for $610,000, with Blake receiving $175,000 in a trust, as reported by CBS News on October 21, 2010. Other students received significantly smaller settlements, with some refusing NDAs to tell their stories.
Spy High also explores how the case foreshadowed a larger shift in student surveillance. By 2025, the Center for Democracy & Technology reports that more than 23 million students in U.S. public schools attend institutions that use some type of digital monitoring tool.
Stay tuned for more updates.
