School monitoring software places LGBTQ at risk

A student in Minneapolis was outed when their parents were contacted by school administrators when surveillance software found LGBTQ keywords in their writing on a school-supplied laptop. The risk of many more such cases is increasing as the use of edtech spread, fuelled by the pandemic, and legislation, lawsuits, and pressure campaigns push schools to implement anti-LGBTQ policies. Software such as Gaggle, which surveils school computers and student accounts, constantly monitors students through their Gmail and Microsoft Office accounts, even at home using personal devices. Such software often has fundamental racial and gender biases, and their use disproportionately affects people of colour and marginalised groups.

Article: School monitoring software places LGBTQ at risk

Publication: Slate

Writer: Alejandra Caraballo