Under surveillance
Report finds EdTech apps surveilled and tracked students during COVID-19 .
By Eleanor Campbell
Educational apps used by millions of students during the pandemic harvested personal information and tracked children ’ s locations without consent , a global investigation has found . Recent analysis from advocacy group Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) looked at 164 educational applications and websites used across 49 countries during 2021 .
The study found that 89 per cent of educational technology , also known as EdTech , “ directly violated children ’ s privacy and other children ’ s rights ”.
“ These products monitored or had the capacity to monitor children , in most cases secretly and without the consent of children or their parents ,” the report said .
“ In many cases harvesting data on who they are , where they are , what they do in the classroom , who their family and friends are , and what kind of device their families could afford for them to use .”
In Australia , the HRW investigation focused on New South Wales and
Victoria , but mentioned tools endorsed by state governments across the country .
Teleconferencing apps Microsoft Teams and Adobe Connect were shown to have facilitated the transmission of personal data to third-party companies , which could be used to estimate students ’ interests and predict what they might want to buy .
According to the report , none of the 66 apps analysed allowed students the option to decline access to their information .
Other major apps such as Zoom and Cisco Webex were also shown to have tracked children ’ s exact locations and logged the amount of time they spent online .
A mother-of-two from regional NSW told researchers she was completely unaware this was happening .
“ I just trusted the school had looked into it . What would we do about it anyway ?” she said .
“ We were worried about the tension and uncertainty around this pandemic , so we were trying to make things work .”
Of the 125 EdTech websites examined by HRW , eight were found to be “ fingerprinting ” their users and tracking them across the internet .
Many teachers and parents had acted in “ blind faith ” that their governments would secure their online privacy .
This included online games website CBS Kids , which receives the bulk of its funding from the Canadian government .
The report said that many teachers and parents had acted in “ blind faith ” that their governments would secure their online privacy during COVID-19 school closures .
“ Teachers told Human Rights Watch that they were also not informed how the EdTech products they were told to use would protect their students ’ privacy or told to explain and seek consent from children or their parents ,” the report said .
“ Some teachers told [ HRW ] that their government created accounts for them and their students on EdTech platforms without asking for consent or informing them of the products ’ privacy practice .”
In 2019 , the Australian government announced it would be reviewing the Privacy Act 1988 . ■
28 | educationreview . com . au