An excerpt from my Information Ethics class discussion.
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a significant shift in the use of technology in education. With many students studying from home, schools and universities scrambled to find effective ways to instill knowledge and ensure academic honesty. Some of these efforts, even before the pandemic, crossed the ethical line of violating student privacy.
Gillispie (2022) writes about the case of Aaron Ogletree, who was required to use a webcam to show his entire bedroom before being allowed to take an exam. He filed a lawsuit against the school for violating his fourth amendment right to privacy, and the lawsuit included the detail that students could see each others’ spaces. The judge ruled in favor of Ogletree in this case, but it’s not an isolated incident.
The harms of these invasive procedures are magnified for minority students. Wen (2022) notes that gender, sexuality and romantic orientation minorities can be outed to schools, classmates and parents. While schools argue that these privacy violations are necessary to ensure students aren’t being bullied, the data suggest that the harm these policies cause far outweigh their benefit. That has certainly been my personal experience.
While Ogletree had the opportunity to fight for his privacy in court, not all students are in a position to pursue legal remedy. This is especially true for minority students who experience disproportional harm. The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers a comprehensive resource for students to protect their privacy (Electronic Frontier Foundation, n.d.). Legal and policy advocacy are paramount for ensuring the continued safety and privacy of students in an increasingly digital academy.
Electronic Frontier Foundation. (n.d.). Privacy for students. Retrieved July 8, 2023, from https://ssd.eff.org/module/privacy-students
Gillispie, M. (2022, August 23). Judge rules video scan of room before online testing illegal. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/technology-education-lawsuits-cleveland-data-privacy-c915555265ec6906471e06eaa5571522
Wen, A. (2022, November 17). How the rise of school surveillance software affects LGBTQ students. Youth Today. https://youthtoday.org/2022/11/how-the-rise-of-school-surveillance-software-affects-lgbtq-students/