UvA wins summary proceedings about proctoring
The University of Amsterdam may use online surveillance software when taking exams. This was determined by the Amsterdam court in a case brought by two student councils and a student from the UvA.
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With the surveillance software Proctorio, the UvA, like many other institutions, wants to prevent students from cheating during online exams, for example by looking up information on the Internet or by consulting with others. The program uses a webcam, microphone, internet traffic and monitors the use of mouse and keyboard. Suspicious activities are automatically reported, after which a security guard can consult the data.
According to the student councils, the UvA should have asked their permission first. The national umbrella organizations of employee participation councils in higher professional education and academic higher education thought the same way. The complainants also believe that the surveillance software violates the GDPR privacy law.
No right of consent
But the preliminary relief judge ruled that the use of online proctoring is legal. Firstly, the statutory regulations for holding examinations explicitly state that student councils do not have the right of consent when it comes to invigilation rules. The UvA did not have to ask for their permission first.
Furthermore, according to the court, there is no unlawful invasion of privacy. The UvA's public task as an educational institution - to provide education, conduct exams and issue diplomas - is laid down by law. The GDPR thus offers the university the space to process personal data that is necessary for the performance of that task. The court agrees with the UvA that due to the corona measures, certain exams must be taken online and that fraud must be prevented.
Software supplier
The UvA also complies with the GDPR when it comes to handling the collected data. Because it has entered into an agreement with the software supplier, that company is also bound by the GDPR. In addition, according to the court, the students are not live are monitored, but that the security guard will not have access to the data until the computer detects significant abnormal behavior. The data is also stored encrypted and automatically destroyed after thirty days.
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