The privacy association Noyb has filed two complaints against the company with the Austrian Data Protection Authority.
IT tools are increasingly used in the classroom, but how can student data be protected? Two complaints were filed on Tuesday in Austria against Microsoft, accused of not respecting its obligations in this area.
The American IT giant is very present in establishments with its software dedicated to education, but “schools have no control over the systems”, denounces in a press release the Viennese association campaigning for the protection of private life Noyb.
She initiated proceedings with the Austrian Data Protection Authority (DSB) on behalf of two students attending school in Austria, so that she “conducts an investigation and factually analyzes what data is processed” by Microsoft. Noyb also advocates a fine, with “all children” across Europe being exposed to the same violations of their rights.
A “very worrying” practice
Microsoft “shields itself from its responsibilities” on schools, even though they “have no means of complying with transparency and information obligations”, underlines lawyer Maartje de Graaf.
The information provided “is so vague” that it is “almost impossible for children and their parents to understand the extent of the data collection”, she adds, referring to “a labyrinth of documents”. And because of Microsoft’s “enormous market power”, establishments “do not have a realistic way” to negotiate or modify the terms.
Furthermore, Microsoft 365 Education installed digital trackers, the famous “cookies” making it possible to offer targeted advertisements, despite the lack of consent from one of the complainants and their school, points out the NGO. This practice, described as “very worrying”, is “likely to affect hundreds of thousands of pupils and students” on the continent, judges another expert from the association, Felix Mikolasch, calling on the authorities to “finally do respect the rights of minors.
Asked by AFP, the American company was not able to react immediately.
The Viennese association Noyb (for “None of your business”, meaning in English “It is not your business”), whose founder Max Schrems has become a well-known figure in the tech world, is at the origin of numerous complaints against web giants. She accuses them of flouting the law to make money by exploiting the personal data of their users.
