Privacy group files complaint against five online test-proctoring services
Kamen, 9, attends an online class at his home in Sofia, Bulgaria. | Photo by NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a complaint with the DC Attorney General's office against five online test-proctoring services: Respondus, ProctorU, Proctorio, Examity, and Honorlock. EPIC claims that the firms violate the privacy rights of students.
The five companies sell software designed to prevent cheating in online tests and exams. Some are designed to track applications that are running on test-takers' computers or restrict access to certain programs during the testing period. Others track students' activity during the test via their webcams and microphones and flag potentially suspicious behavior to their instructor, using either algorithms or live monitoring. In some cases, test-takers need to show a...