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How Big Techs sink their teeth into brazilian education

Out of nowhere, thousands of students, teachers, and even some parents in the state of São Paulo woke up on August 8, 2023, to find a new app on their personal phones.

The installation of the “Minha Escola” app – automatic, without warning, and most importantly, without user consent – was carried out by the São Paulo State Department of Education (SEDUC) and caused widespread irritation among those affected, in addition to potentially violating the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

After some uproar, SEDUC claimed it was a mistake during a test conducted by the technical department, affecting devices connected to Google accounts, with which the department has had a partnership since 2016.

It’s ✷ IMPORTANT ✷ BECAUSE…

Big Techs have been increasingly encroaching on the education sector, leaving many organizations dependent on their products and services.

Actions taken by education departments based on these Big Tech services can conflict with the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

A similar case occurred in Paraná in November 2022 and was also viewed with suspicion by users and experts. Ironically, the secretary at the time is the same Renato Feder, the current Secretary of Education for the State of São Paulo.

Although Big Techs were not directly involved in the installation of these apps, this was only possible because they were connected to Google accounts, which brings to light a bigger issue: the constant presence of tech giants in the Brazilian educational environment.

And Big Techs are deeply entrenched in the education sector: according to a survey by the Supervised Education Observatory, a scientific dissemination initiative by academic researchers and social organizations, half of the 76 state and municipal education departments use services from Google or Microsoft for primary education.

Among 145 Brazilian universities, 80% use servers from either Google or Microsoft.

ℹ️

The Supervised Education Observatory developed software capable of identifying where official emails from public educational institutions are stored, as well as validating this information via Access to Information Law (LAI) requests.

There is also opacity regarding how user data is handled, as in the case of apps installed without consent.

According to Marina Meira, a researcher at Data Privacy Brasil, there was a clear violation of the law in these app cases. “One of the legal bases of the LGPD is consent. If consent is the basis being used, the user must have the possibility to say yes or no, and understand what that data processing activity will imply for them.”

Catarina Santos, a professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Brasília, adds that the situation is even more serious because the data involves children and adolescents.

“If we look at the ECA (Statute of the Child and Adolescent), one of the law’s clauses specifically addresses the promotion of rights and protection for children and adolescents, which must be done respecting their intimacy, right to their image, and the privacy of their lives,” the professor evaluates.

GOOGLE IN THE LEAD

From Meta to Apple, from Amazon to Microsoft and Zoom, many tech companies have areas and products designed for education. But perhaps none have as much influence as Google.

According to data from November 2022 in the report Education in a Scenario of Platformization and Data Economy, by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI-BR), 24 out of the 27 Brazilian Federal Units have partnerships using Google apps.

At the end of June 2023, the company announced a personalized tutoring feature for high school students based on artificial intelligence (which requires a large amount of data).

In June 2022, Google closed an agreement with the Ministry of Education to offer educational tools, including a “free” package of Google Workspace productivity tools.

“Today, most state education departments in Brazil use Big Tech platforms, especially Google’s,” commented Meira, stating that this shift accelerated significantly at the beginning of the pandemic with the need to transition to remote learning.

Despite this recent acceleration, at least since 2017, Google has made it clear that it wants to make a strong entrance into the education sector in Brazil.

For Santos, this reality – already present before COVID-19 – became even more apparent after the return to in-person and hybrid learning, combined with educational technologies, creating an ecosystem that extends far beyond schools.

“The Brazilian population is all, directly or indirectly, connected to the educational system,” explained the professor.

DATA MINES

In April 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) analyzed the privacy features (or lack thereof) of 164 distance education products for children from so-called edtechs (startups/companies focused on technology in education).

These products were used in 49 countries (including Brazil) to provide remote education to children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Out of the 146 edtechs analyzed, 89% exhibited practices that put minors’ rights at risk or violated them.

“What we saw Big Techs doing was offering their services ‘for free’ (with ‘free’ in quotation marks) to education departments so that agreements were made and not sales instruments, so that it didn’t have to go through a bidding process,” contextualized the researcher.

For Meira, the companies’ reward is the data of students, teachers, and even students’ families.

This is “the wheel of the machinery of their business model,” she contextualized, adding that these companies operate based on a data-driven business model.

“Targeted advertising, which is that behavioral advertising that will be precise, direct, designed for your tastes and interests. That’s how the business model of these companies works.”

Furthermore, as institutions become more dependent on “free” services offered by Big Techs, the risk grows that these companies could later charge for them, leaving little room for maneuver other than paying.

In 2022, for example, according to Intercept Brasil, Google announced that it would start charging universities for the “unlimited” products it had previously offered for free.

HOW WE DID THIS

The Center consulted experts and analyzed data made available on the Supervised Education Observatory platform.

REPORT LEONARDO COELHO

ART AND MAP RODOLFO ALMEIDA

EDITING SÉRGIO SPAGNUOLO

Text written by Leonardo Coelho and Sérgio Spagnuolo, originally published on August 24, 2023, on the Núcleo Jornalismo website.