An investigation has found that the University of Melbourne breached privacy and data protection laws when it used its wifi network to monitor students and staff participating in a pro-Palestine protest last year.
The investigation was released on Wednesday, and was led by Victoria’s deputy information commissioner. It was prompted by media reports circulating last year, which alleged that UoM digitally tracked those involved in a sit-in style protest at the uni’s Arts West building.
The deputy commissioner discovered that the uni used a combination of wifi location data, student card photographs and CCTV footage to identify 22 students who failed to comply with orders to leave the protest on May 20, 2024.
UoM was also found to have reviewed the emails of 10 staff members involved in the protest, resulting in three staff receiving formal written warnings.
Meanwhile, misconduct proceedings were brought against 20 students, with 19 of them receiving a reprimand or caution.
While UoM is said to have taken the tracking measures to identify potential misconduct during the protest, the commissioner found that the uni did not give adequate notice or justification for how the data would be used.
Per the commissioner, the use of CCTV did not contravene any privacy laws under the state’s Privacy and Data Protection Act, but UoM did breach two information privacy principles in its use of wifi data.
Those principles included failing to adequately inform students of how their personal information had been used, as well as a misconduct investigation being an unauthorised reason for the use of wifi data.
“The university failed to obtain a social licence for the use of this technology,” the report read, per The Guardian.
“Because the collection and use of the data involved the surveillance of students and staff, and surveillance by its nature is antithetical to human rights, the breach was serious.”
Each [student] was subjected to a form of surveillance … They are likely to have experienced a significant breach of trust.”
Despite the breaches, UoM was not issued any compliance notices because it had already undertaken remedial measures during the investigation, including updating its surveillance policies.
Reacting to the investigation, UoM’S Chief Operating Officer Katerina Kapobassis acknowledged the uni could have provided “clearer active notice” about its use of wifi data, but said the measures were “reasonable and proportionate … given the overriding need to keep our community safe”, per The Guardian.
Meanwhile, the group behind the protest, Unimelb for Palestine, welcomed the results of the investigation, saying in a statement (per The Guardian) that it highlights UoM’s “ongoing efforts to expel and suspend student protesters based on unauthorised and unlawfully obtained data”.
Unimelb for Palestine is holding a general meeting for Palestine on the uni’s North Court next week.
Lead images: Instagram
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