Local News

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) ― The Eden Prairie High School students who got into trouble after school officials saw pictures of them with alleged alcoholic beverages ran afoul of a new reality: digital cameras and social networking sites make the entire world a public space.

Forty-two students were interviewed and 13 face some discipline over the pictures, school officials said Wednesday, a day after media reports that party photos on Facebook had sparked a crackdown.

In separate statements, the school's principal and superintendent said they did not seek out the pictures. But they didn't say who gave them the photos.

"We do not go out looking at student social networking sites. We do however take action when we are given legitimate information about school or Minnesota State High School League violations," Principal Conn McCartan said in an e-mail to families of his students.

McCartan said interviews with students suggested, however, that the pictures might have been posted on such sites, and warned of the dangers.

"These sites are not private places," he wrote. "Their content forms a permanent and public record of conversations and pictures."

McCartan didn't return calls from The Associated Press. In an e-mail to parents and guardians, Superintendent Melissa Krull said, "We are not legally at liberty to discuss further details of this investigation."

It's becoming increasingly common for schools or potential employers to check social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and to penalize kids or other people for what they find, said William McGeveran, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and expert on data privacy.

"Facebook is largely a public space. Users don't always perceive it that way, but that's what it is," McGeveran said.

Even when young people are cautious about what they put on the pages, he said, friends or acquaintances can post pictures of them in questionable situations without them knowing about it.

McGeveran cited research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that suggested that most teens are aware of the risks of posting personal information on the Internet. A report issued last month found that most teens restrict access to their posted photos and videos at least some of the time, and that few consistently share them without any restrictions.

"But some students are still foolish about what they put on their pages," he said.

Eden Prairie High School has about 3,300 students, and Facebook lists about 2,800 members in its network for the school, including over 500 from the current senior class. A spot check Wednesday showed that some have posted dozens and even hundreds of pictures of themselves and their friends. However, most members used a privacy setting to limit access to their profiles to friends and other authorized people.

Schools in Minnesota have limited ability to regulate the conduct of students after hours. When students participate in sports or certain fine arts activities, however, they must agree in writing to abide by the long-standing rules of the Minnesota State High School League, which prohibit the use of alcohol, tobacco and controlled substances, even over summers. Penalties start at two-game suspensions for the first violation.

League spokesman Howard Voigt noted that parents must sign the forms, too, certifying that they understand the rules and penalties. Still, he said, complaints are common.

"We run into that all the time here -- parents call and accuse us of being too hard on their kid," he said.

Voigt said there have been several cases of students running afoul of league rules because of potential violations posted on social networking sites.

McGeveran said it's not safe for kids to assume what they do in small groups won't be broadcast to the entire world.

"I don't think most of us would have liked to have lived our teen years in an era of ubiquitous camera phones and social networking," he said. "It really changes the perception of what places are private and which ones aren't."

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