Zoom recordings involving children

[nomusicnoworld]

My kids have participated a Zoom session organised by a learning group. It's never been an issue until today that a "Rec" appeared in red in the right hand corner, without my consent, and we don't know who was recording it or what for.

I don't feel comfortable because it had my kids' names with their faces.

Is this a normal thing in Zoom lessons nowadays, not to ask for parental consent to record Zoom meetings?

Aibu to feel uncomfortable about this?

YANBU, could be a bit of an oversight on the part of the organiser.

Email and ask them, why it's being recorded and clarify that you're not comfortable with it

Usually they are recorded for safeguarding and to check for anything inappropriate being said.

I've just had an review of one of my DCs (disabled). Meeting was held over Microsoft teams, I was informed Zoom etc were not safe to use and were not authorised for use by my local authority. So curious as to all these meetings going on via Zoom.

By default only the host of a meeting can record (afaik), so I'd presume it was the learning group staff.

When my school did live Zoom lessons we recorded everything for our own protection. If the parents/kids didn't want to be recorded then they didn't participate. Perhaps it's similar for the group but I'm surprised that they didn't inform you about it.

I’m required to record all the online contact I have with students for safeguarding reasons, (we are encouraged to use Microsoft teams,) parents had a letter explaining that this when they started, though.

@hercatsanddogs

Usually they are recorded for safeguarding and to check for anything inappropriate being said.

My DD does her Beavers each week via Zoom and they ask a parent to always be able to see and hear the meeting. DH is an Explorer Scout leader and they make sure there is always more than one leader present. That’s how they achieve safeguarding. I would feel very uncomfortable at the thought of my DD being recorded.

They could potentially be allowed to record without your consent, but they must have a very good reason for doing so and depending on the basis you may be able to object. Ask them the purpose and how long are they keeping for. They should have a legal basis for doing so, I will bet they haven't thought about that. They should. Speak to their data protection officer.

I have just finished online teaching from March (not in UK) doing 5x live zooms a day with my primary class... All had to be recorded and it was made clear to all parents that this would happen. For us as well as the kids.
I think if online teaching becomes more normal/regular in future then recording needs to happen to protect the teacher to be honest. It was normal to see parents/siblings/granny/the cat in the background every so often.
We were not allowed to do 1:1 teaching though.

By default only the host of a meeting can record (afaik), so I'd presume it was the learning group staff.

No, anyone can record, although only the host can have it recorded and left on some US servers, but it's trivial for anyone to record.

This is one of the big problems with Zoom or anything similar, there are very good reasons to record it for safeguarding - protects the facilitator against claims against them, allows evidence and clarity if any of the kids ask for help etc. But obviously at the same time it prevents access for anyone who has any privacy doubts, or good reason to protect themselves.

A school saying "just don't attend if you don't agree" is extremely dubious, but then most of this is done on a balance of risks and rewards and whilst I would disagree with live video lessons entirely and slightly less disagree with video catch-ups. It absolutely depends on a balance of different risks and rewards for the activity.

For the facilitator wanting to protect themselves I can see a balance being on requiring recording (especially as anyone in the group can record anyway.)

Retaining the recording for any longer than necessary would be bad though, and storing it on zoom servers would be pretty silly, and you should have been informed, although of course maybe you were.

So YANBU to be uncomfortable, it's right to be, but equally a facilitator would be pretty Unreasonable not to record - it's all part of how shit doing stuff remote is.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts - really helpful.

My point is exactly this (sorry new to this so not sure how to quote)
"My DD does her Beavers each week via Zoom and they ask a parent to always be able to see and hear the meeting. DH is an Explorer Scout leader and they make sure there is always more than one leader present. That’s how they achieve safeguarding. I would feel very uncomfortable at the thought of my DD being recorded."

Also, had I been informed about the recording with valid reasons together with how it will be used/stored I would have been more comfortable with it. There was none of that, and on top they had not enabled "recording disclaimer" so I only noticed it half way through.

Anyway, as advised by some of you I've emailed one of the organisers to clarify. Many thanks

Also, had I been informed about the recording with valid reasons together with how it will be used/stored I would have been more comfortable with it. There was none of that, and on top they had not enabled "recording disclaimer" so I only noticed it half way through.

That is your fundamental right. They are wrong to have not given you that information.

There should be a virtual policy that every parent signs to allow a child to access on sites like zoom or teams. Your consent is needed.
All ours are recorded.
Random people were porn bombing or entering sites unannounced originally with zoom. There are additional safety controls with a paid Zoom membership that we now use. We also had to have a virtual policy to hold any online meetings. This was one of the first actions schools did.

There should be a virtual policy that every parent signs to allow a child to access on sites like zoom or teams. Your consent is needed.

I disagree that an adult can consent for school use, in that it cannot be withheld due to the power balance, unless the school actually provides the same provision if consent is not available.

In any case, I would not be using consent as grounds for recording a zoom meeting, it's the legitimate interest in safeguarding staff and students, and whilst I obviously could not pre-judge any objection to that legitimate interest, I cannot think of any scenarios in which I would support the objection. Very short retention periods are the main thing here, and strict only used in safeguarding scenarios, and only available to very limited individuals - and of course not stored on the Zoom servers for any time at all.

learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/march/undertaking-remote-teaching-safely. This may be helpful