Remote Teaching During the Emergency and Beyond: Four Open Privacy and Data Protection Issues of ‘Platformised’ Education

Opinio Juris in Comparatione, vol. 1 (2020), http://www.opiniojurisincomparatione.org/opinio/article/view/163/171

30 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2021 Last revised: 8 Mar 2021

See all articles by Chiara Angiolini

Chiara Angiolini

Department of Law, University of Siena

Rossana Ducato

School of Law, University of Aberdeen; Université Catholique de Louvain

Alexandra Giannopoulou

University of Amsterdam - Institute for Information Law (IViR)

Giulia Schneider

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies; Bocconi University, International Law and Economics, Students

Date Written: November 13, 2020

Abstract

Due to the spread of COVID-19 in the first months of 2020, almost all Universities across Europe had to close their buildings and migrate online. This rapid shift towards the provision of education online has been characterized by the externalization to and use of third-party service providers, such as Zoom, for ensuring the continuity of learning. The ‘platformisation’ of education, however, raises several concerns, especially from a privacy and data protection perspective.

The aim of this paper is to map the possible data protection risks emerging from the platformisation of education by focusing on the most pressing points of friction with the European data privacy regime: 1) allocation of roles and responsibilities of the actors involved; 2) transparency of the processing and possibility to effectively exercise data subjects’ rights; 3) extra-EU data transfers after Schrems II; 4) challenges of e-proctoring systems.

The paper argues that the implementation of the right to privacy and data protection in remote teaching is not merely an issue of compliance, but a substantial measure that Universities shall ensure to guarantee the fundamental rights of our students and colleagues. The paper concludes with recommendations for ensuring a safer and fairer remote teaching experience, also discussing long-term strategies beyond the emergency and beyond the mere compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

Keywords: privacy, data protection, GDPR, online education, e-proctoring, online platforms, emergency remote teaching

Suggested Citation

Angiolini, Chiara and Ducato, Rossana and Giannopoulou, Alexandra and Schneider, Giulia, Remote Teaching During the Emergency and Beyond: Four Open Privacy and Data Protection Issues of ‘Platformised’ Education (November 13, 2020). Opinio Juris in Comparatione, vol. 1 (2020), http://www.opiniojurisincomparatione.org/opinio/article/view/163/171, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3779238

Chiara Angiolini

Department of Law, University of Siena ( email )

via Mattioli 10
Siena, Siena 53100
Italy

Rossana Ducato (Contact Author)

School of Law, University of Aberdeen ( email )

Taylor Building
King's College
Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 3UB
United Kingdom

Université Catholique de Louvain ( email )

Bruxelles, 1000
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.rosels.eu/member/rossana-ducato/

Alexandra Giannopoulou

University of Amsterdam - Institute for Information Law (IViR) ( email )

Rokin 84
Amsterdam, 1012 KX
Netherlands

Giulia Schneider

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies ( email )

Piazza dei Martiri della Libertà, 33
Pisa, 56127
Italy
3480369497 (Phone)

Bocconi University, International Law and Economics, Students ( email )

Milano
Italy

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