https://www.eff.org/press/releases/schools-are-spying-students-students-can-fight-back Skip to main content * About + Contact + Press + People + Opportunities + EFF 30th Anniversary * Issues + Free Speech + Privacy + Creativity and Innovation + Transparency + International + Security * Our Work + Deeplinks Blog + Press Releases + Events + Legal Cases + Whitepapers * Take Action + Action Center + Electronic Frontier Alliance + Volunteer * Tools + Privacy Badger + HTTPS Everywhere + Surveillance Self-Defense + Certbot + Atlas of Surveillance + Cover Your Tracks + Crocodile Hunter * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give + Membership FAQ * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give * Search form Search [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Email updates on news, actions, and events in your area. Join EFF Lists * Copyright (CC BY) * Trademark * Privacy Policy * Thanks Electronic Frontier Foundation Donate EFF TURNS 30! LEARN MORE ABOUT US, AND HOW YOU CAN HELP. EFF TURNS 30! LEARN MORE. Electronic Frontier Foundation * About + Contact + Press + People + Opportunities + EFF 30th Anniversary * Issues + Free Speech + Privacy + Creativity and Innovation + Transparency + International + Security * Our Work + Deeplinks Blog + Press Releases + Events + Legal Cases + Whitepapers * Take Action + Action Center + Electronic Frontier Alliance + Volunteer * Tools + Privacy Badger + HTTPS Everywhere + Surveillance Self-Defense + Certbot + Atlas of Surveillance + Cover Your Tracks + Crocodile Hunter * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give + Membership FAQ * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give * Search form Search [ ] Schools Are Spying on Students - But Students Can Fight Back EFF Launches Surveillance Self-Defense Guide for Students PRESS RELEASE Press Release March 2, 2020 Schools Are Spying on Students - But Students Can Fight Back Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link San Francisco - Schools across the country are increasingly using technology to spy on students at home, at school, and on social media. Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) launched a new Surveillance Self-Defense guide for students and their parents, so they can learn more about how schools are watching them, and how they can fight back. The surveillance technology currently in use includes software to scan students' social media posts, cameras with facial recognition and other scanning capabilities, and microphones to "detect aggression." Schools can even track you on devices that they don't control: if you have to download a certain kind of security certificate to use the school Internet, they may be monitoring your browser history and messages you send. "Some administrators argue that they need to use this technology to keep schools safe, yet there is little evidence that it works," said EFF Activism Project Manager Lindsay Oliver. "Instead, surveillance can make people second-guess everything they do or say. When we are constantly spied on, we censor the way we express ourselves. That's known as the 'chilling effect.' Students need space to experiment and learn without being monitored and recorded by their schools at every turn." School discipline disproportionately targets students of color, and it's reasonable to think that additional, and more comprehensive scrutiny of their lives will only add to that injustice. As a criminologist told Vice, LGBTQ+ students, who tend to look for support online as they explore their orientations and gender identities, "find they're under so much surveillance that it affects them in ways that shuts them out of those resources. They learn not to look. They learn not to trust online public spaces." In the new guide, EFF shows students and concerned parents what kind of technologies to watch for, how they can track you, and what it means for privacy. For example, some schools are tracking students' locations, ostensibly to automate attendance or track school bus ridership. This monitoring can be conducted through tools ranging from students' cell phones to ID cards with tracking chips, and it can easily continue when you are off campus. Location information is extraordinarily sensitive--it can reveal who your friends are and what you do when you see them, as well as what kind of medical appointments you might have or what sort of meetings or groups you attend regularly. In some cases, student data is reported to school resource officers or the police, and it can be kept over time, creating a granular history of a student's actions. But what can students and concerned parents do? Often, the best solution is to simply not use the systems that schools have set up, if you're able to, and encourage your friends to do the same. But the new guide also shows students how to gather information on what's happening and how to talk to adults about it. "Being under constant surveillance at home and school teaches kids to accept that people they should trust are spying on them--and that's a lesson that will serve them poorly in later life," said EFF Associate Director of Research Gennie Gebhart. "If authority figures for youth say constant surveillance is OK, what happens when a romantic partner wants access to every message on their phone? Or an employer wants your social media password? Invasive monitoring isn't acceptable, no matter who tries to do it, and personal privacy matters." For Privacy for Students: https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/privacy-students Contact: Lindsay Oliver Gennie Gebhart Related Issues Privacy Security Education Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link Join EFF Lists Join Our Newsletter! Email updates on news, actions, events in your area, and more. Email Address [ ] Postal Code (optional) [ ] Anti-spam question: Enter the three-letter abbreviation for Electronic Frontier Foundation: [ ] Don't fill out this field (required) [ ] [Submit] Thanks, you're awesome! Please check your email for a confirmation link. Oops something is broken right now, please try again later. Related Updates The angular outline of three faces as a computer might see them, colored like a rainbow Deeplinks Blog by Matthew Guariglia | June 24, 2021 Now Is The Time: Tell Congress to Ban Federal Use of Face Recognition Cities and states across the country have banned government use of face surveillance technology, and many more are weighing proposals to do so. From Boston to San Francisco, New Orleans to Minneapolis, elected officials and activists know that face surveillance gives police the power to track... Image of a skyline of buildings with antennas on them. Deeplinks Blog by Jon Callas | June 22, 2021 Understanding Amazon Sidewalk Just before the long weekend at the end of May, Amazon announced the release of their Sidewalk mesh network. There are many misconceptions about what it is and what it does, so this article will untangle some of the confusion.It Isn't Internet SharingMuch of the press about Amazon Sidewalk... The shadow of a police officer looms in front of a Ring device on a closed door. Deeplinks Blog by Matthew Guariglia, Karen Gullo | June 17, 2021 Emails from 2016 Show Amazon Ring's Hold on the LAPD Through Camera Giveaways In March 2016, "smart" doorbell camera maker Ring was a growing company attempting to market its wireless smart security camera when it received an email from an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Gang and Narcotics Division, who was interested in purchasing a slew of devices.The Los... [interoperable_plum] Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | June 11, 2021 The GDPR, Privacy and Monopoly In Privacy Without Monopoly: Data Protection and Interoperability, we took a thorough look at the privacy implications of various kinds of interoperability. We examined the potential privacy risks of interoperability mandates, such as those contemplated by 2020's ACCESS Act (USA), the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act (EU),... [medical-privacy] Deeplinks Blog by Lee Tien | June 10, 2021 Big Data Profits If We Deregulate HIPAA This blog post was written by Kenny Gutierrez, EFF Bridge Fellow. Recently proposed modifications to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would invade your most personal and intimate health data. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health... BLM protestors hold phones and bullhorns up Deeplinks Blog by Nathan Sheard, Matthew Guariglia, Saira Hussain, Lindsay Oliver, Kurt Opsahl, Adam Schwartz | June 8, 2021 A Year of Action in Support of the Black-Led Movement Against Police Violence and Racism "Black lives matter on the streets. Black lives matter on the internet." A year ago, EFF's Executive Director, Cindy Cohn, shared these words in EFF's statement about the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Cindy spoke for all of us in committing EFF to redouble its efforts... Necessary & Proportionate logo Deeplinks Blog by Katitza Rodriguez, Tamir Israel | June 8, 2021 Global Law Enforcement Convention Weakens Privacy & Human Rights The Council of Europe Cybercrime Committee's (T-CY) recent decision to approve new international rules for law enforcement access to user data without strong privacy protections is a blow for global human rights in the digital age. The final version of the draft Second Additional Protocol to the Council... [eu-octopus1] Deeplinks Blog by Karen Gullo | June 7, 2021 Civil Society Groups Seek More Time to Review, Comment on Rushed Global Treaty for Intrusive Cross Border Police Powers Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), European Digital Rights (EDRi), and 40 other civil society organizations urged the Council of Europe's Parliament Assembly and Committee of Ministers to allow more time for them to provide much-needed analysis and feedback on the flawed cross border police surveillance treaty its... [mobile-privacy-knight-2_0] Deeplinks Blog by Gennie Gebhart | June 7, 2021 VICTORY: You Can Now Make Your Venmo Friends List Private. Here's How. It took two and a half years and one national security incident, but Venmo did it, folks: users now have privacy settings to hide their friends lists. As we've noted before, this is the bare minimum. Providing more privacy settings options so users can opt-out of the publication of their... The shadow of a police officer looms in front of a Ring device on a closed door. Deeplinks Blog by Matthew Guariglia | June 7, 2021 Ring Changed How Police Request Door Camera Footage: What it Means and Doesn't Mean Amazon Ring has announced that it will change the way police can request footage from millions of doorbell cameras in communities across the country. Rather than the current system, in which police can send automatic bulk email requests to individual Ring users in an area of interest up to... Back to top EFF Home Follow EFF: * twitter * facebook * instagram * youtube * flicker * rss Contact * General * Legal * Security * Membership * Press About * Calendar * Volunteer * Victories * History * Internships * Jobs * Staff * Diversity & Inclusion Issues * Free Speech * Privacy * Creativity & Innovation * Transparency * International * Security Updates * Blog * Press Releases * Events * Legal Cases * Whitepapers * EFFector Newsletter Press * Press Contact Donate * Join or Renew Membership Online * One-Time Donation Online * Shop * Other Ways to Give * Copyright (CC BY) * Trademark * Privacy Policy * Thanks JavaScript license information *