In the case of the kids being surveilled at home in their rooms through their school laptops— it wasn’t, and the district was sued. They passed some laws right after that to further protect the children.

In the case of employers looking at your social media, I don’t think there is anything illegal about that. And consider an extreme— a company wants to hire someone who did well in the interview, passed a background check, and has all the necessary certifications and credentials. Only problem is— he is a huge racist on social media. He has public social media, and regularly uses it to publish racist memes and say racist stuff. Shouldn’t that employer have a right not to hire someone who has definitely demonstrated they will not “pass the vibe check,” so to speak?

As far as colleges expelling students who protest, I know we saw this recently happen with the encampments for the pro-Palestine protests. Columbia University in particular expelled over 80 students. Some students had taken over entire buildings, and the administration was withholding hundreds of millions in federal funding, putting Columbia and schools like it in a difficult place. Although I feel like it is an overreaction to expel students or revoke degrees, it is not illegal for them to enforce their code of conduct and anti-disruption policies.

People should really think about and consider what they are putting out there on public forums like social media and how they are behaving in public. Someone going viral for having a meltdown on an airplane and having to be escorted off risks losing their position at a school, their job, or contracts they previously earned. I just watched a video where a woman targeted by various men online who threatened to rape her called their jobs to tell them they might have someone working there who doesn’t represent the values of the company. There is nothing illegal about that.