We are attempting to convince the econ department to remove proctorio exams. Proctorio is an extremely invasive program, and the CEO is known for breaking privacy and posting student info online. If other departments can adapt their exams to an online-friendly format, the Econ department can too. I encourage you to do your own research, but I will set out a few key points.

Proctorio has access and will track your:

1. Microphone
2. Webcam
3. Physical location
4. Identity
5. Clipboard (text you have copied)
6. Mouse movement
7. Browser size
8. Browser tabs and windows you have open
9. Head movements
10. Eye movements
11. Mouth movements
12. Entire screen
13. Any website you visit
14. Scan of your testing environment via webcam
15. Any applications you have running on your computer
16. Number of display screens connected to your computer

As you can see, these are HUGE privacy violations. Your data is stored for 1 year and is NOT SAFE. 

The CEO has a previous history of exposing a UBC student’s private information. The company claims it has no access to your data but that is NOT TRUE. A student went on reddit to complain about the support they received in the exam. The CEO posted this students' PRIVATE chat logs in an attempt to discredit them. A quote taken directly from the Proctorio Student Guide reads, "Data and recordings are stored using zero-knowledge encryption. Only authorized and appropriate users within UBC can access them. Proctorio cannot decode the encryption". This proves that our data, chat logs along with everything else, is not “encrypted” as they make us believe. I will link this article if anyone wants further info, but I'm not sure how to include a screenshot of the student guide.

Further, when UBC learning specialist Ian Linkletter posted on twitter about the severe privacy invasions of Proctorio, he was met with a lawsuit for sharing “confidential information”. Linkletter was attempting to fight against the use of Proctorio at UBC and was raising awareness for the benefit of students. The link to this article will also be posted for your reading.

Ultimately, this program is not safe for use. As UBC students, we should not allow our private information to be exposed, especially for a class that is required for our degrees. This is an issue that NEEDS to be discussed and resolved. If other departments can adapt exam formats to suit online learning, the Econ department has no excuse.

SHARE this with your friends and anyone taking ECON101 in the first semester. Many are unaware of the unethical aspects of Proctorio. We need support. Without it, there is nothing that can be done.

LINKS MENTIONED:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/01/ceo-of-exam-monitoring-software-proctorio-apologises-for-posting-students-chat-logs-on-reddit​

https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/proctorio-sues-linkletter/