Children are not for Data Mining: ETUCE urges EU member states to reject Irish Presidency proposal that allows Big Tech to exploit children's and educators' data to train AI
A recent leaked EU Council
text prepared under the Irish Presidency that proposes the introduction of Article
88bis to the GDPR in the context of the Digital Omnibus negotiations.
The
proposed article explicitly recognises “legitimate interest” as a
legal basis for controllers and deployers to use personal data for the
development and operation of AI systems and models. This will have the
effect of further sacrificing the rights of citizens to increase the profits of
commercial entities. In addition, important safeguards contained in the EU Commission proposal have been removed in the Council proposal, including
an exclusion for children and protections related to data minimisation,
transparency, and the right to object.
In practice, this means that
EdTech companies, including Big tech, will be able to exploit personal data of
children and educators for the development of AI systems driven by their
commercial interests. The proposal will allow the use of
personal data far beyond the educational purposes for which it was originally
collected, while removing the ability of students and teachers to exercise
effective control over their information.
Every
day, schools, universities and other educational institutions collect and
process personal data to support learning, well-being, inclusion, and
educational success. Learners share information with their teachers. Parents
trust educational institutions with sensitive information about their children.
Educators use digital tools with the expectation that personal data will be
used only for clearly defined educational purposes. The proposed Article 88bis will
break that trust.
"This appalling proposal,
under the aegis of the Irish Presidency is a deep
and unacceptable betrayal of children and of the trust families place
in our education systems every day. Allowing commercial
interests, motivated by greed for market share and increased
profit, to gain greater access to children's personal data for AI
development amounts to pawning their future for short-term
corporate gain.
The
proposal shows a brazen lack of concern for the rights of citizens and, if
adopted, will further erode public trust in democratic institutions.
European
governments must reject this dangerous proposal and stand firmly on the side of
children's rights. As teachers and education unions, we are
entrusted with and committed to the protection
of children.
“Education
unions across Europe will oppose this craven and cynical proposal
with one united voice," explained John MacGabhann President, of the ETUCE,
which represents millions of education workers across every EU state. “Selling
out our children is not an option” he added.
Children's rights must come before
commercial interests
Children
are among the most vulnerable users of digital technologies. Educational data
can reveal highly sensitive information about learning patterns, educational
attainment, special educational needs, socio-economic background, behavioural
records, well-being, and personal development. Such information accompanies
learners throughout significant parts of their lives and can have long-term
consequences if misused. A framework
that allows to repurpose personal data for AI development will transform data
collected in educational settings into a resource for commercial exploitation.
Educational data must never be collected to become raw material
for training AI systems.
Europe has consistently pledged
for children’s protection in digital environments. At a time when policymakers
are calling for trustworthy AI, Europe must match its words with action: safeguards
around the use of children's and personal data must be strengthened, not
removed. Trustworthy AI cannot be built on reduced protections for children.
“I
am shocked by the extent to which this proposal opens the door for Big Tech to
use data from our children and our schools. It raises a fundamental question
about the values Europe claims to defend: do the European Union and national
governments stand with people, or with the rich and powerful?” said Jelmer
Evers, European Director of ETUCE.
Member
states have the duty to ensure that
learning environments are safe. Students must be able to participate fully in
school life without worrying that the information generated through these
activities could later be reused for purposes unrelated to education. Trust is
not a technical detail. It is a precondition for learning. If learners and
families lose confidence in how educational data are handled, the consequences
will extend far beyond privacy concerns. It will break confidence and the
social pact at the heart of education.
Educators also have a stake in this
debate.
The
proposed changes raise serious concerns for teachers, academics, and other
education personnel.
Educational
institutions increasingly rely on digital systems that process information
about teaching activities, professional performance, communications, and
workplace practices. Removing GDPR safeguards will expose education workers to
increased risks associated with workplace surveillance, profiling, algorithmic
management, and automated decision-making. The weakening of GDPR safeguards would
reduce protections against the collection and use of workplace data in AI
systems and would undermine workers' ability to exercise their fundamental
right to data protection.
ETUCE stresses that Europe's digital future cannot
be built by lowering standards that protect learners and educators.
ETUCE
therefore urges member states to reject the proposed Article 88bis in its
current form and to oppose any similar amendments that weaken existing data
protection safeguards.In particular, we call on the Government to
ensure that any future provision relating to AI and personal data processing:
does not create a broad
or blanket authorisation for the processing of children's and education
workers' data for the development or operation of AI systems;
guarantees that
students’ and educators’ data will never be used to develop and operate AI
systems and AI models without their explicit consent and, where applicable,
parents’ consent;
preserves meaningful
safeguards, including an exclusion for children, data minimisation,
transparency, accountability and an effective right to object;
prevents the use of
educational and workplace data for purposes unrelated to those for which
the data were originally collected;
maintains public trust
in the deployment of AI in education; and
remains fully
consistent with the fundamental rights framework that underpins European
data protection law.
Schools are places of learning, trust, and growth. They must not become reservoirs of data for commercial AI
development. Education is a
fundamental human right, a public good, a public responsibility, and one of the
most powerful tools for building democratic, peaceful, and just societies.
Education unions cannot remain silent when
children's rights are threatened.
Children are not for Data Mining: ETUCE urges EU member states to reject Irish Presidency proposal that allows Big Tech to exploit children's and educators' data to train AI
