Erfurt (dpa/th) - The Society for Freedom Rights (GFF) has filed a lawsuit at the Erfurt Regional Court because of the control programs with facial recognition used for online exams at the University of Erfurt. The spokesman for the court confirmed receipt on Friday (Az.: 3 O 1117/22). According to the GFF, it is about so-called proctoring software including automated face recognition for monitoring students during online exams.
As the GFF announced, she brought the lawsuit together with a student and the "free union of student bodies" (fzs). According to the information, the student had to take online exams due to the corona pandemic, which made it possible to take exams remotely and without the risk of infection. According to the GFF, the use of the control software is illegal.
On request, the university announced that against the background of the corona pandemic and the associated lockdown, it had decided to conduct the exams in the 2020 summer semester as online exams for the first time. "Due to the ongoing incidence of infection, this was also the case for the exams in the 2020/21 winter semester." The university wanted to ensure that students could also take exams during the lockdown or during the time of digital teaching.
In the "Questions and Answers" on online exams, the university explains on its website: "Automated facial recognition is used to identify students and reduce attempts at deception when conducting off-campus exams."
