Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges have rushed to adopt new practices and new technologies —sometimes creating a serious threat to the civil liberties of students and workers on campus. Join EFF for a live streamed video discussion about how mandated COVID apps can compromise our security and privacy, while undermining trust in the efforts of public health workers. Afterwards we will discuss how the rushed pivot to remote learning technology, such as proctoring software, has pinned many students' academic achievements against their right to privacy. Finally we will be joined by Alison Macrina, Founder and Executive Director of the Library Freedom Institute Project, to discuss the crucial role campus librarians play in identifying and addressing privacy concerns in education technology
Have questions now? Send them to events@eff.org.
This event will be live streamed via Twitch, where you can chat and ask questions. It will also be streaming on Facebook Live and YouTube Live. (For Twitch's Privacy Policy, see here.)
A recording will be made available.
Event Time: Thursday, January 14th, 12:00PM Pacific / 3:00 PM Eastern (check your local time here)
Event Schedule (PST):
12:00-12:10: Introduction with Cory Doctorow
12:10-12:30: COVID-tech on Campus
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, universities across the country have rushed to adopt new apps and devices to monitor public health on campus. While a university's desire to keep its students safe is laudable, many of these programs come with numerous privacy and security concerns, especially when they force students, faculty, and staff to submit to surveillance. Join our panel discussing how the tech mandates disproportionately harm the most vulnerable individuals on campus, exacerbate the digital divide, and eschew more practical support of public health workers.
12:35-12:55: Academic Surveillance Technology
To accommodate the pivot to remote learning, schools across the nation rapidly pivoted to new education technology. However, these tools all too often prioritize student surveillance over pedagogical principles and/or accessibility. This panel will go over how these tools, such as proctoring software, invade our privacy and increasingly force students to choose between their education and their civil liberties.
12:55-1:30: Fireside Chat with Alison Macrina
Join EFF senior activist Elliot Harmon for a one-on-one interview with Alison Macrina, Executive Director and founder of the Library Freedom Project, about the role librarians play on the front line against campus surveillance from EdTech as well as traditional publishers.
