Emergency Remote Teaching: a study of copyright and data protection policies of popular online services (Part II)

The first post of this two-part series on Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) discussed the copyright implications of the use of different online services in the context of ERT. The second part explores the data protection (DP) issues. Our analysis evaluates compliance of platforms with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in order to assess how the shift from face-to-face to a digital teaching dimension affects teachers’ and students’ privacy in universities.

ERT requires the collection and processing of different types of personal data – including in some cases sensitive data – from both teachers and students. When based in the EU or offering services to subjects in the EU, ERT service providers must adhere to the rules of the GDPR. The latter provides a framework for the protection of individuals (“data subjects”) with regard to the processing of their personal data, and for the free movement of such data. It empowers data subjects to control information relating to them (Arts. 12-22 GDPR) and clearly articulates the standards of accountability for actors involved in the processing.