An after-school care center in the Zurich municipality of Birmensdorf in Switzerland is planning to track its students with magnetic wristbands to monitor their whereabouts on school grounds.
Beginning June 10, the Letten after-school care center will require third- and fourth-graders to wear magnetic wristbands with Bluetooth technology, which allows childcare staff to track their location and receive alerts if a child leaves the premises without permission during care hours.
The initial test phase will last until the end of summer, with plans to extend the trial to all classes between the summer and fall vacations. Following this period, the project will be evaluated to determine if the system will be permanently adopted. Participation in the project is voluntary, meaning parents can opt their children out if they do not wish to participate.
Joel Giger, the head of Letten's tracking program who supplied the technology and equipment for the tracking system, clarified that children's data is only stored while bracelets are in use and can only be located under school premises. Giger, who funded the project with no financial contribution from the school, also claimed that these magnetic wristbands would help caregivers locate children more efficiently. But all movement data is temporary and deleted daily.
The data system will only record minimal information, including the child's first name, the first letter of their last name, any medical incompatibilities, and their class. This data is encrypted on a separate network and is inaccessible from the internet. (Related: Alarm sounded over rapidly increasing use of SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS inside schools.)
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Giger reveals that the school board independently reviewed and approved all steps, from planning to implementation. And so, the school administration sees the project as mutually beneficial.
"Those responsible … at Birmensdorf school can gain new insights through the pilot project and at the same time offer the company the opportunity to test the product together with specialists on-site as part of the pilot project," said Bettina Kohler, the president of Letten.
Cantonal office does not sound alarmed by the tracking system for children
Despite the assurances given by Giger and Kohler, the project has drawn criticism from data protection authorities in the canton of Zurich.
According to Hans Peter Waltisberg, a spokesperson for the Zurich cantonal government's data protection commission, data processing is justified only if there is a "reasonable relationship" between the intended purpose and the data processing. He noted that "permanent localization of schoolchildren does not seem necessary for their care."
"It should be examined whether a Bluetooth wristband is the appropriate means of localization. For example, the fact that a wristband can also be removed must be taken into account," Waltisberg said.
Moreover, data protection authorities are unaware of similar projects using Bluetooth and magnetic wristbands for schoolchildren in the canton of Zurich.
But just like the school board of Letten, Myriam Ziegler, the head of the Zurich cantonal elementary school office, does not seem alarmed by the tracking system for children. Instead, the cantonal office has provided limited information on the matter and claimed that the design of daily structures is the responsibility of the municipalities.
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