Proctorio Settles Curious Lawsuit With Librarian Who Shared Public YouTube Videos (arstechnica.com) 20
Canadian librarian Ian Linkletter has ended a five-year legal battle with ed-tech firm Proctorio after being sued for sharing public YouTube help videos that exposed how the company's remote-proctoring AI works. Ars Technica reports: ... Together, the videos, the help center screenshot, and another screenshot showing course material describing how Proctorio works were enough for Proctorio to take Linkletter to court. The ed tech company promptly filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary injunction by spuriously claiming that Linkletter shared private YouTube videos containing confidential information. Because the YouTube videos -- which were public but "unlisted" when Linkletter shared them -- had been removed, Linkletter did not have to delete the seven tweets that initially caught Proctorio's attention, but the injunction required that he remove two tweets, including the screenshots.
In the five years since, the legal fight dragged on, with no end in sight until last week, as Canadian courts tangled with copyright allegations that tested a recently passed law intended to shield Canadian rights to free expression, the Protection of Public Participation Act. To fund his defense, Linkletter said in a blog announcing the settlement that he invested his life savings "ten times over." Additionally, about 900 GoFundMe supporters and thousands of members of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff at UBC contributed tens of thousands more. For the last year of the battle, a law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, agreed to represent him on a pro bono basis, which Linkletter said âoewas a huge relief to me, as it meant I could defend myself all the way if Proctorio chose to proceed with the litigation."
The terms of the settlement remain confidential, but both Linkletter and Proctorio confirmed that no money was exchanged. For Proctorio, the settlement made permanent the injunction that restricted Linkletter from posting the company's help center or instructional materials. But it doesn't stop Linkletter from remaining the company's biggest critic, as "there are no other restrictions on my freedom of expression," Linkletter's blog noted. "I've won my life back!" Linkletter wrote, while reassuring his supporters that he's "fine" with how things ended. "It doesn't take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students," Linkletter wrote. "I can say everything that matters about Proctorio using public information."
In the five years since, the legal fight dragged on, with no end in sight until last week, as Canadian courts tangled with copyright allegations that tested a recently passed law intended to shield Canadian rights to free expression, the Protection of Public Participation Act. To fund his defense, Linkletter said in a blog announcing the settlement that he invested his life savings "ten times over." Additionally, about 900 GoFundMe supporters and thousands of members of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff at UBC contributed tens of thousands more. For the last year of the battle, a law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, agreed to represent him on a pro bono basis, which Linkletter said âoewas a huge relief to me, as it meant I could defend myself all the way if Proctorio chose to proceed with the litigation."
The terms of the settlement remain confidential, but both Linkletter and Proctorio confirmed that no money was exchanged. For Proctorio, the settlement made permanent the injunction that restricted Linkletter from posting the company's help center or instructional materials. But it doesn't stop Linkletter from remaining the company's biggest critic, as "there are no other restrictions on my freedom of expression," Linkletter's blog noted. "I've won my life back!" Linkletter wrote, while reassuring his supporters that he's "fine" with how things ended. "It doesn't take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students," Linkletter wrote. "I can say everything that matters about Proctorio using public information."
Videos? (Score:3)
Couldn't find a link to these videos anywhere in TFA. Anyone got them?
My understanding is that their dodgy software notices things like "abnormal" eye movements and accuses the student of cheating.
Re: (Score:2)
Could they be the ones under https://www.youtube.com/@proctorexam7814 [youtube.com]? Although maybe those are not old enough.
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Maybe. I'm not sure what they are supposed to show. Some titles would be helpful.
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Could they be the ones under https://www.youtube.com/@proctorexam7814 [youtube.com]? Although maybe those are not old enough.
Unlikely. They are unlisted videos so they don't show up in user's video list. The user would need to make a specific playlist to include unlisted videos in their channel feed.
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Couldn't find a link to these videos anywhere in TFA. Anyone got them?
Jeesh I wonder why that is... Did you read what the article was about?
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This is the internet. I figured that since they tried to censor it, someone would have made copies.
I'm in two minds about this (Score:2)
On the one hand they were posted to Youtube so significant level of control has been given up.
On the other hand unlisted videos are at the initial mercy of the distribution rights of the person who uploaded them. They don't show up in feeds or video lists unless they were explicitly shared by someone so calling them "public" is a bit of a misnomer.
It's like your bedroom is "public" simply because someone could in theory look through the window. Or that your favourite music becomes "public" when you bought i
Re: (Score:1)
Re:I'm in two minds about this (Score:4, Informative)
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Posting an unlisted video is a bit like hiding your notes under a bush in a public park. It's not an invitation, but it's not in a filing cabinet in your home either. Nobody is obligated to not read your notes nor are they obligated to not tell friends "some clown hid his private documents under that bush" or even put up a sign saying "some dude's private papers are under this bush".
If you don't want your private papers read, don't hide them under a bush in the park.
Sounds a lot like... (Score:1)
"It doesn't take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students,"
Hmmm. Proctorio..... sounds a lot like Proctologist, but many times more painful.
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"It doesn't take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students,"
Hmmm. Proctorio..... sounds a lot like Proctologist, but many times more painful.
Proctorio sounds like alt-dimension Cornholio. Can you imagine if those two met up?
I AM CORNHOLIO! I NEED TP FOR MY BUNGHOLE!
I AM PROCTOIO! I NEED LUBRICANT FOR MY FIST!
ARE YOU THREATENING ME?
TP WON'T SAVE YOU NOW!
Proctorio? (Score:2)
Such annoying policies (Score:2)
The community college I'm attending a class in online uses Proctorio. The rules say that we shouldn't wear headphones during the tests because we could be getting answers through the headset.
I'm taking a foreign language class, and part of the tests involves listening to spoken words. I don't own computer speakers, so how am I supposed to follow that rule? I'd have to buy speakers for just Proctorio.
Confidential lawsuit settlements can go DIAF (Score:2)
We need rules around the dismissal of lawsuits that would prevent *plaintiffs* from requiring the settlement be confidential. Defendants probably should be allowed to make it confidential (they didn't start the mess, and no one wants their monetary awards public).
The courts are public for a reason. If someone files a lawsuit, then the reasons for it's dismissal should also be public.