IFUT has joined ASTI, INTO and TUI in calling on the Government to withdraw a proposed change to EU data protection rules that could weaken safeguards for learners and education workers. The call comes as IFUT has also raised concerns with Minister James Lawless about the announcement of new AI support for third-level students without prior engagement with those who teach them.
In a joint letter dated 24 September, the four unions expressed serious concern about proposed Article 88bis of the General Data Protection Regulation, brought forward in the context of the EU Digital Omnibus. The proposal would explicitly recognise “legitimate interest” as a legal basis for processing personal data to develop and operate AI systems. The unions are particularly concerned that the current text removes safeguards that appeared in an earlier version, including specific protection for children, requirements concerning data minimisation and transparency, and an unconditional right to object.
Educational institutions hold extensive information about students and staff. That information is gathered to support teaching, learning and employment. It should not become readily available for other purposes, including the development of commercial AI systems, without strong protections and meaningful control for the people concerned.
The letter also identifies the risks that weaker safeguards could pose for education workers, including workplace surveillance, algorithmic management and automated decision-making. For learners, educational data can reveal deeply personal information about their circumstances, development and performance. Trust in how that information is handled is essential to the relationship between students and their educators.
These concerns are especially immediate in light of Minister Lawless’s announcement of new AI support for third-level students, including Google’s involvement in the initiative. IFUT has written to the Minister to ask why a development with potentially significant implications for teaching and assessment was announced without prior discussion with the unions representing the educators who will work alongside students using these tools.
Students need support to use AI critically and effectively. Their educators need time, training and a real say in how AI is introduced. Decisions about assessment, academic practice and the use of student data cannot sensibly be made without the expertise of the academics and other education workers who deal with these matters every day.
IFUT and the ICTU Group of Further and Higher Education Unions have long called for structured sectoral engagement on decisions affecting higher education. The pace of change in AI makes that engagement more urgent. Government, institutions, students and unions need a forum in which to address the educational, professional and data protection implications before decisions are put into effect.
The four unions have asked the Government to withdraw Article 88bis in its current form and to oppose any similar weakening of data protection safeguards. IFUT has also asked Minister Lawless to engage directly with educators’ representatives on the AI initiative he announced. Responsible use of AI in education depends on both: strong protection of people’s rights and the meaningful involvement of those who teach and learn.