The table in the ACLU report is kind of interesting. I mean, I was confused about the could be shared with law enforcement and the could be used to discipline my friends but then seeing the Could be used to identify trans/reproductive health makes those amounts completely understandable as well as the undocumented statement.
- I always feel like I’m being watched 32%
- How it could be used to discipline me or my friends 27%
- What our school and companies they contract with do with the data (such as sell it, analyze it, etc.) 26%
- How it limits what resources I feel I can access online 24%
- Could be shared with law enforcement 22%
- Could be used against me in the future by a college or an employer 21%
- Could be used to identify students seeking reproductive health care (such as contraception or abortion care) 21%
- Could be used to identify students seeking gender-affirming care (such as transgender students seeking hormones) 18%
- Could be used against immigrant students, especially those who are undocumented 18%
- How it limits what I say online 17%
- Could be used to “out” LGBTQIA+ students 13%
- I have no concerns regarding surveillance in my school 27%
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Source: YouGov. School Surveillance, fielded October 20-26, 2022. Commissioned by ACLU TABLE 1 Students’ Concerns About School Surveillance
Hell, I finished school over a decade ago now, but even as an adult, I feel like I’m being constantly watched. This kind of overreaching, omnipresent surveillance is genuinely not good for individuals and by extension, society at large. Human beings do not act naturally when they feel their every move is being watched. Anxiety, distrust, paranoia, depression, etc. can all manifest, and it scares me to know that this kind of “for your safety” surveillance has become so normalized.
It isn’t normal. It is affecting the average person’s mental health, even if they don’t know it. It is affecting society at a very base level as a result. What a world…
Note: Found the one big thing I wanted in the ACLU stuff but I’m not reading through the Vice News report at this moment: As Vice News reported, “The few published studies looking into the impacts of [student surveillance] tools indicate that they may have the effect [of] breaking down trust relationships within schools and discouraging adolescents from reaching out for help.”83 Ironically, the same tools the EdTech Surveillance industry is promoting as a means for identifying students in need of help may actually be dis-couraging those students from reaching out to school officials and other adults for help when they need it.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Chad Marlow, a senior policy counsel for the ACLU’s national office and the report’s lead author, said that from a research standpoint, these claims are impossible to prove and are misleading to school officials and administrators.
Although school shootings and suicides are rare events, they are every parent’s worst nightmare and the fear is very real, Marlow said.
The ACLU commissioned YouGov to complete a national survey on student’s perceptions towards surveillance tech in their schools.
When it comes to education technology surveillance in their schools, students reported heightened anxiety, unease and fear.
“It’s going to make it less likely that students are going to reach out for help,” said Amelia Vance, the president of the Public Interest Privacy Center.
The ACLU report also offers recommendations to school districts and state level decision-makers about which tools are proven to work.
The original article contains 622 words, the summary contains 140 words. Saved 77%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
woah no way, spying on kids makes them feel unsafe??
🤯🤯🤯🤯
