Discord, User Rights and Data Use in Education
Data collection is everywhere. With web development we would set up Google Analytics to track web traffic based on search criteria, advertising and MailChimp marketing emails. In the call centre, user data was similarly collected for our clients, while employee data was used to improve efficiency and make staffing decisions. While it is something I have been concerned with personally, with regard to work the ethics of what is collected, from whom, how and when, has not been something that I have had enough control over in order to discuss with clients or employers. Venturing more into the non-profit sector, specifically mental health, this appears to be very much the opposite mindset. For instance, these same questions over the data collection are asked upfront, rather than as an afterthought, and there is an insistence on data depersonalization. Ethics, then, is regarded very differently in this sector and the tools and practices used in it regarding online education and therapy require critical thought and analysis.
With this in mind, it has been interesting reviewing the use of Discord in an educational context for a Community of Inquiry as part of our group project. Our cohort for the MALAT program has used it since we started with LRNT522 around this time last year and it’s become a part of many of our daily routines. At the same time, however, reading through their policies regarding data use and collection is quite shocking, especially with regard to the Terms of Service. Essentially it boils down to users giving up their rights to any and everything they do on, add or upload to the server(s) while Discord, as an organization, can do anything they want with that data. This doesn’t mean that they do, but the door is open for any and everything to be monetized at the expense of the user. With information being placed there in perpetuity, this means that the data provided can and will most likely outlast the users. Add to that Discord being able to terminate any user account at their whim and this tool becomes rather concerning when used in terms of education.
Regarding educational tool selection for the health, mental health, education and/or non-profit sectors, then, I am curious what specific criteria are non-negotiable? What makes a tool a non-starter? What sorts of data collection is appropriate/inappropriate in this context? How/when should we push back? Are there other questions we should be asking about all of this? Anyone that I should be reading to get a better understanding of the issues?
I’d love to have any feedback that you might have on the topic as I begin my journey in understanding this from a broader set of angles.
Really interesting questions you’re posing here, Jean-Pierre. Many people have concerns about data collection… but I think the vast majority likely don’t have a solid understanding of what they find acceptable or not. Where do we draw the line? I legitimately have no idea. It’s been me observation, that for most people, there isn’t a limit to what’s acceptable… or at least, no company that I’m aware of has crossed whatever line there may be. User agreements, as you mention, have a tendency to reserve all possible rights regarding user content… companies regularly get hacked and data is released online… personal data is compromised on a regular basis… but this doesn’t seem to give many people pause when they’re signing for a sexy new tool. You mention in your post about having some personal concerns about data collection. Do you have an idea of what would be crossing the line and would be a deal breaker for you?
Rubel et al (2017) discuss the inBloom’s failure. inBloom offered third parties access to data it collected on student information from K-12 schools. As a result, a pledge was formed to protect student information. The paper outlines a few things from this pledge that help guide what should and should not be collected and distributed.
Rubel, A., & Jones, K. (2017). Data analytics in higher education: Key concerns and open questions. U. St. Thomas JL & Pub. Pol’y, 11, 25.
Jean-Pierre, this is an excellent issue to explore because of its timeliness among other things. There are several initiatives under way to define an ethical framework for educational technology including data, focused both on procurement processes as well as instructor use. The UK Association for Learning Technology (ALT) for instance is working on such a framework (link below). There are others as well (see EDUCAUSE, link below). Educational technology researcher and journalist Audrey Watters has done a lot of good work in this area.
https://www.alt.ac.uk/news/all_news/help-shape-alts-ethical-framework-learning-technology
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/5/digital-ethics-in-higher-education-2020
A good piece on the Canvas LMS as an example. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/canvas-surveillance/