An uptown Philadelphia school district charged with spying on students being at home through school-issued computers explained their parents it only activated the web-cameras to find lost laptops.

According to Christopher McGinley, Lower Merion School District Superintendent, security and technology departments of the school will activate webcams once any student laptop will be reported stolen or lost. Thereafter, he addressed a letter to the parents through schools’ website on Feb. 18 following the gross breach and bringing of action by the students.

“The security feature’s capabilities were limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen. This feature was only used for the narrow purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop,” msnbc.com quotes McGinley. “The District never activated the security feature for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever,” source reads.

S.T.