Should spying on laptops be considered wiretapping?

The US Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs held a hearing on the application of wiretapping law to the Pennsylvania school that was caught spying on students using the webcams on their laptops. Arguments were presented on both sides. The EFF said it was inconsistent that the current law would cover enabling the microphone on laptops but not the webcam while government lawyers pointed out the commonplace presence of CCTV cameras and cautioned against laws that would cause more problems than they solve.