NSW education department caught unaware after Microsoft Teams began collecting students’ biometric data

The New South Wales education department was caught by surprise when Microsoft began collecting the voice and facial biometric data of school students using the Teams video conferencing app in March. The NSW education department website states Teams is used by schools as “a hub for teachers and students to engage, create, interact, and collaborate”. If a user deletes their Teams account, Microsoft states on its website that it deletes the biometric data within 90 days. Rys Farthing, the director of policy and research at the research organisation Reset Tech Australia, described the collection of biometric data of children as “a real worry”. “That young people’s biometric data was unnecessarily collected creates real concerns – those students now have a lifetime to live with those risks,” Farthing said.