S.T.O.P. Report Highlights Danger Of Remote Proctoring Software

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Report Highlights Danger Of Remote Proctoring Software Warns expanding use of biased and invasive proctoring technology poses a threat to students, particularly students of color. (NEW YORK, NY, 11/11/2020) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, released its whitepaper Snooping Where We Sleep, detailing the dangers posed by the growing use of remote proctoring software. The report details how video monitoring, facial recognition, and an array of automated tracking tools are invading students’ most intimate spaces and compounding the risk of automated racial profiling. SEE: Report – Snooping Where We Sleep www.stopspying.org/snooping “These tools extend the school-to-prison pipeline into students’ bedrooms,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “School districts are wasting millions of dollars on invasive and unproven technologies, relying on far-fetched promises from start-up software firms. We should be supporting students, not adding even more stress to their life. Students already face historic barriers to learning in the middle of a pandemic, and we shouldn’t traumatize them with these invasive and potentially biased surveillance systems.”   “Students aren't suspects,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis, PhD. “Making students take tests under a cloud of suspicion is bad for learning and unfair to students whose normal behavior is flagged as suspicious.” The civil rights group noted particular alarm at the growing use of artificial intelligence systems that try to evaluate student movements for signs of cheating. Not only do vendors frequently fail to provide any evidence that such tools are effective, there are frequently no protections against software errors that punish students for physical disabilities or atypical physical movements. The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   - END –