Last week, various media reported the advice of the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA; Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens in Dutch) to educational institutes to no longer use Google Workspace for Education. The use of the platform is subject to too many risks, DPA states. The University of Twente uses this service from Google, too. In this statement, we inform you about the context and will explain a bit about our (already) planned switch to another platform provider.
Advice on request
In March 2021, SURF (the cooperative association of Dutch educational and research institutes for digital services) and VSNU have requested DPA to review the use of Google Workspace for Education (previously named G Suite for Education) within their educational programmes.
Worries about the use of data
After extensive and frequent dialogue with Google, they failed to take away the worries about the use of data. In the advice provided by the Dutch DPA, DPA concludes that there are currently too many privacy risks attached to the use of the Google Workspace applications, such as Email, Calendar, and Docs.
Google collects metadata. This is data related to the use of Google Workspace. For instance, Google can see which items are clicked most, how long users are logged, which webpages are being visited and which searches are being performed frequently. In no way Google has been able to collect data such as educational results or personal data from their users.
Collecting metadata is not considered a general problem, provided that these data are being used to improve the quality and safety of their digital products. It needs to be arranged that the data will not be used for other purposes. Furthermore, it should not be allowed to collect more data than strictly necessary.
SURF is still in dialogue with Google about the situation on behalf of the educational institutes in the Netherlands. Up until now, that has not led to a convenient solution for all. The advice of the DPA will be taken into account in further negotiations. You may find more information in the news item on the SURF website (in Dutch).
UT switches to Microsoft Office 365
Currently, UT students are using Google Workspace for Education. However, we are (and were) already in the process of switching to Microsoft Office 365. UT staff members already make use of Microsoft Office 365, and it turned out that digital collaboration does not function optimally while using both platforms. It is not yet known when the switch will be effectuated.
The advice of the Dutch DPA is available on the website of the Dutch parliament, including a letter from the Minister of Education, Culture and Science about the item. These documents are unfortunately only available in Dutch.
