Recording

Technology companies seek data and engagement and pit institutions and their members against one another. Universities fear reputational damage from actions and complaints by students and faculty on unregulated platforms, causing schools to increase visual and auditory surveillance.

Cost/Benefit

Video recordings capture everything and have benefits such as increased security to fight against crimes and help victims. However, surveillance benefits institutions in other ways, such as by providing more and quicker information than institutional members have, such as in the case of a violent crime on campus weeks ago. This allows a faster response by better access to truth than journalists and school members. Students and media could have caused reputational damage on media platforms, and students could not leave their testing rooms for safety reasons. Surveillance rarely benefits students and faculty, and classroom surveillance has led to reputational damage for some.

Law/Policy

Potential responses regarding mass recording within colleges include looking at GDPR and forced deletion of recordings. Also, looking into an argument that recordings can be educational records and looking at FERPA.

Advertising

In addition, courses require students to access content on Canvas, which profits off students and faculty through advertising partnerships. Moreover, access to class recordings is restricted if cross-site tracking and cookies are disabled.

Cost/Benefit

Advertising profit can make recordings more affordable by redistributing cost savings to students. However, it seems odd. There are privacy concerns for students, primarily as some rely on access to recordings as they are immunocompromised or ostracized from class.

Law/Policy

NY section 50 and 51, FTC, and the Higher Education Act of 1965 could be changed.

Waiver

The school also asks new students to sign a release form that grants the university ownership of any photos and recordings taken of them. The waiver's language includes photographs or photographs, including but not limited to still photographs, live-streaming, videotapes, film, and digital, of the student. Students will be increasingly recorded as the school's construction and property portfolio increases through discounted rent to students and the replacement of the library.

Cost/Benefit

The waiver has some benefits, such as helping the university promote and attract new students and providing them with a better educational experience or increasing advertising. However, there are also risks to students' privacy and the potential for recordings to be used to harm them in the future.

Law/Policy

Potential informed consent changes requiring schools to give students better information about the risks and benefits of signing the waiver. The waiver could also be more precise, concise, and transparent regarding its scope. The waiver seems unfair or reasonable due to the area of surveillance.

Ownership

Furthermore, Echo360 has issued a new statement asserting that recordings of students' instant thoughts on law and policy are not intended for public consumption. Students are prohibited from copying, sharing, forwarding, or allowing others to view or listen to such audio. Additionally, microphones continue to record vastly during breaks without any available means for students to remove the recordings, while some course recordings have been shortened.

Cost/Benefit

Computer-generated audio of humans has grown in popularity, and schools likely possess the most audio recordings of students and faculty. Faculty are also at significant risk of the consequences of digitization and commodification, as their physical movements and voices are constantly being digitized, and they have a great deal of excellent writing across the internet. The benefits of video surveillance for law students and faculty seem low, although classroom recordings can help absent or inattentive students.

Law/Policy

More clarity is needed from the school regarding the ownership of this audio and the transfer and use of images or recordings. Even if copyrighted by students or faculty, looking at fair use. Also, while technology companies continue to snowball, systems must be in place to prevent them from attempting to self-regulate and verify.