Hackers, Corporations, and Governments: Student Privacy and Security in Secondary Schools

• In Event: Technology, Social Media, and Surveillance of Youth

Abstract

Secondary schools are rapidly becoming more securized and miltarized across America. Many schools are implementing surveillance cameras, and using facial recognition software and biometric scanners, such as iris- or palm-vein- scanning. The heightened use of security measures presents additional concern for students’ rights and privacy. This leads to the question: does a parent’s knowledge of the privacy implications of security measures in secondary schools affect their support for such actions? Using an quasi-experimental design, I will investigate the plausibility of the following hypotheses: 1) once alerted to potential privacy concerns, parents are less likely to support heightened security measures in secondary schools; and 2) after being exposed to privacy concerns about technology, parental support for non-technological security measures will increase. The study will be fielded on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and will include 2000 particpaints. Participants in treatment groups will be randomly exposed to information about privacy concerns in schools, such as hacking, and governmental and corporate surveillance, and asked about their level of support for secuirty measures such as facial recognition surveillance cameras, radio-frequency ID tags, and computer monitoring web-filters.

Author

• Leanna Ireland, Virginia Tech