Students against forced digitization

Just a week ago, we reported on a petition to "Legislate a ban on compulsory corona virus tracking/tracing apps." Yesterday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) wrote to us about attempts by university administrators in the UK to require their students to carry corona warning apps and similar tracking apps.

Against that, the EFF has launched a petition, too:

End University App Mandates - Privacy for Students

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, universities across the country have rushed to adopt new apps and devices to monitor public health on campus. While a university's desire to keep its students safe is laudable, many of these programs come with numerous privacy and security concerns, especially when they force students, faculty, and staff to submit to surveillance.

This is why we need you to join our call on university leadership across the country to commit to our University App Mandate Pledge (UAMP). In a public health emergency, respect for privacy and security is essential for good public health outcomes. People must have trust in public health officials, which requires the opportunity to consent to (or withhold consent from) any surveillance measures put in place. This pledge is a chance for college officials to publicly commit to respecting the privacy, security, and consent of everyone they ask to return to campus.

January 14, 2021

Dear university leadership,

We are calling on you to take privacy on campus seriously, drop any current app mandates, and commit to the University App Mandate Pledge (UAMP)

Students, faculty, and staff must be allowed to freely decide whether to consent to any contact-tracing or notification technologies on campus. They should not be compelled to use these apps in work contracts or student commitments, or penalized for declining to participate.

Further, universities should make available as much information about these programs as possible, while implementing common-sense information security protections. In order for members of the institution to decide whether to use any apps in an informed way, universities should disclose:

• The terms of contracts made with the external vendors.
• What information is collected about the users, for what purposes, and specifically which technologies are utilized.
• How this information is handled, and what specific steps are taken to ensure it is secure.
• Which entities, internal or external to the university itself, handle or have access to this data.
• Whether or not the university or external vendors grant access to federal, state or local law enforcement.
• Up to date information about vulnerabilities in technologies employed, with as much detail as possible without exacerbating risk.

By signing this petition, we are making it clear to our institution that their response to a public health emergency cannot come with an intrusion on our right to privacy or with a weakening of our security. We also make it clear that our community has the right to be informed about these new programs. Only with this greater transparency can we ensure accountability and enable individuals to make informed consent decisions.

Read more https://act.eff.org/action/end-university-app-mandates/

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