Password powers: school privacy.

• Author: Soave, Robby
• Position: Citings - Brief article

Students in the state of Illinois better watch what they say about each other on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. The legislature there has granted school administrators the power to demand kids' social media passwords to make sure they aren't bullying each other--even outside of school hours.

Previously, authority figures had the right to log in to students' social media accounts if they were caught using their devices at school. But legislators didn't think that policy went far enough in discouraging bad behavior. Illinois' new cyberbullying law, which took effect this year, gives school officials the ability to demand passwords if they merely suspect students of bullying each other, regardless of when or where the alleged...