Schools mull kids filming, being filmed

MALIBU, Calif., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Several California school districts are trying to balance the rights of student filmmakers against protecting classmates and teachers from ridicule or harm.

YouTube, MySpace and other Web sites contain video clips surreptitiously shot in high school classrooms around the country, often, it seems, without the subject's knowledge, the Los Angeles Times said.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District started restricting access to YouTube at school and is talking about what types of technology students can use on campus.

"We want to recognize our students' free speech rights, but on the other hand we have to assess the educational impact to the students and our school," Malibu High Principal Mark Kelly.

School districts nationwide have banned the use of cell phones during the school day, but students said it's easy to get around the ban to film a class on a cell phone camera.

MySpace has a guide advising school administrators to contact the site about false or offensive user profiles.

YouTube has guidelines prohibiting inappropriate content. If the video shows someone getting hurt, attacked or humiliated, posters are asked not to upload it; such material is removed once officials are notified, a company spokeswoman said.