The invasive proctoring apps have not only been a danger to privacy groups but also students. Jason posits that numerous petitions have been signed across the nation and world where students have been pushing teachers and school administrators to consider what the app is creating. Schools have to consider this degree of organized activism where students from different universities keep pushing against proctoring surveillance apps. For instance, students from the University of Texas, Dallas, have been petitioning their college to halt utilizing the proctoring app called Honorlock, where this petition gathered over six thousand signatures because they feel Honorlock breaches privacy since it collects one’s face, driver’s license alongside network info. As Jason explains, students from Florida International University have also petitioned the institution to stop utilizing Honorlock, in which they collected over seven thousand signatures. They claim that the data amount this app collects is much, and it is also permitted to keep this info up to a year or two.
The issue in all these petitions is not merely privacy in danger. Whereas nearly in all the petitions, the students have raised genuine concerns of privacy from biometric data gathering to frequent overboard authorizations the apps need over devices of students to surveillance of students’ personal environment, the petitions are making it clear that proctoring apps are raising concerns such as increased stress, cost, accessibility alongside equality. Jason points out that students have realized success through the petitions as the institutions get pressured to retract using proctor for students’ surveillance. There are many petitions in various universities. Irrespective of the number of signatures, there is a positive impact on the overall outcome. As the remote learning aspect continues, the petitions plus other pushbacks from teachers, parents, and student activists would increase. Therefore, schools have to work together with stakeholders to make real concerns about technological bias, privacy, and dequity vital components of school policy rather than afterthoughts.