Picture this: You are a high school student and are called to the vice principal’s office. As you make your way down, you hypothesize what the meeting could possibly be about. When you get there, the vice principal tells you that they have evidence of you selling drugs and will be alerting the authorities. The vice principal shows you a picture of yourself holding up a pill-like object to the camera inside your home. The first question that crosses your mind is this: they have pictures of me in my house?
This is the inciting incident behind Amazon Prime Video’s four-part documentary series, “Spy High.” It focuses on Blake Robbins, a 15-year-old from Philadelphia who was accused of selling drugs from a picture taken from his laptop. He and his family decided to sue the school district for breach of privacy.
The picture was taken on an iMac supplied to each student in Lower Merion High School. It was revealed early in the show that around 56,000 photos/screenshots were taken in total, and not only on Blake’s computer. The justification presented was to keep track of stolen or missing laptops. However, pictures were taken without meeting those criteria.
This documentary analyzed the situation from various perspectives. These include the attorney representing Blake, the attorney representing the school district, two other students whose pictures were taken, Blake’s friends and others. Viewers get an understanding of potential motivations from all the parties involved. Focusing on different points of view complicated the situation, which made the “good guy” less apparent.
The way “Spy High” is directed and edited made it entertaining throughout. The producer occasionally asks the interviewees live questions, which allows more ground to be covered. Several photos taken by the laptop were shown (including one of Blake sleeping), as well as news coverage and school board meetings. All the archival footage was relatively clear, if you consider the technological capabilities at the time.
“Spy High” starts with a grown-up Robbins recalling what high school was like for him. Some of his old friends talk about what kind of kid he was to grow up with. The interviews later branch out to his parents, his sister and other people from his surrounding community. The attention brought to this case was national and impacted Blake and everyone around him immensely.
The documentary is worth checking out, clocking in at under three hours. The first episode talks about the initial accusation and how Blake and his family react. The second displays the pushback from the school. Episode three centers on some of the other students whose pictures were taken.
The last episode was the most interesting as it considered privacy-related issues inside academia outside of Robbins’ experience. “Spy High” is especially topical given the current rise in artificial intelligence and online privacy.
Elizabeth Laird, a tech and privacy expert says in the documentary, “You can’t use technology responsibly if you don’t also protect people’s privacy.” Spy High provides ample evidence for this claim.