Protection of Personal Data
One of the Problems of Distance Education Era: Personal Data Violation
The disruption of face-to-face education due to health measures has brought many problematic practices into the lives of students. One of the major problems was the practices of personal data violations by universities. The distance education process also revealed that information and awareness on protection of personal data is insufficient. This area has emerged due to the fact that collected personal information can be easily processed and disseminated with the development of information technologies. Decisions made during the distance education process, especially in the name of exam security, caused several personal data violations. Moreover, certain university administrations forced students to follow the practices despite the fact that there was a breach.
Arayuz Campaign recognized this breach while examining the distance education processes at universities. The campaign then studied this issue in detail. As these practices continued to increase, the campaign announced that it would provide legal support to students. They shared informative content on their social media accounts to explain which situations caused a personal data violation. So how do we know if our rights on personal data has been violated? Does having cameras and microphones turned on during exams cause a breach? If academics have other means to ensure exam security and prevent cheating, they must employ them first. The mandatory use of cameras and microphones when there is another option would be a violation of rights. If there is no other way and it is necessary to use these procedures for exam security, it should be carried out by collecting the least amount of data possible.
Campaign’s Legal Support for Young People
The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) has charged universities with the obligation to monitor exams. In other words, it is legal to ask for cameras and microphones to be turned on to confirm that everyone is present during the exam, but this is only valid for identification purposes. Asking the examinee to take a panoramic photo of the environment in which he/she will take the exam, monitoring from behind by using a mirror, or with a double camera procedure are excessive practices and constitute a violation of rights. Before collecting the data to be recorded, the people concerned must be clearly informed about how this data will be stored and processed and in what circumstances it will be utilized. Collecting data without specifying the intended purpose is also in violation of the law. Arayuz Campaign has created a whistleblowing survey to provide legal support to students facing these violative practices. This allows students to ask whether what they are experiencing is a violation. If a violation is identified, they can get support for the necessary legal procedure. If you think that your right to protection of your personal data has been violated by your university, you can contact the campaign team.
To read the full Report on Protection of Personal Data: