Ed-tech apps spy on kids

Cory Doctorow
5 min readMay 6, 2021
A laptop on a home desk, its screen filled with the red eye of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

When schools switched to distance learning amid the lockdown, it represented a chance to rethink education and ed-tech, from lessons to schedules to evaluation.

For the most part, we have squandered that chance, doubling down on the most destructive educational practices.

This is true across the board, not just in ed-tech. Take the bizarre start-times for classes — as early as 7AM for students…

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