Video Parents Evenings and GDPR

[fiza]

We are looking to use the new video parents evening systems that utilise Twilio. Does anyone who has used these services know the GDPR implications of video meetings with parents? Twilio mention that they are GDPR compliant. I don't believe the video meetings are recorded so is live video regarded as personal data?

[paulkerton]

We are looking to use the new video parents evening systems that utilise Twilio. Does anyone who has used these services know the GDPR implications of video meetings with parents? Twilio mention that they are GDPR compliant. I don't believe the video meetings are recorded so is live video regarded as personal data?

It's no different than a phone call, but probably more secure. The conversation itself might fall under GDPR, so you have responsibility to secure that in regards to who you have the conversation in front of.

Twilio uses WebRTC so the video conversation is encrypted by default, and if it isn't recorded, it isn't stored.

 

You should be fine, but it's worth asking the provider for their GDPR documentation.

[enjay]

We use Parents Evening System, which we already had in place for booking old-fashioned face-to-face parents evenings. No GDPR concerns for us, it uses no information it didn't already have. Parents choose to sign up and have to click a "join meeting" button for each call, so I think that's consent taken care of.

 

As for @paulkerton 's concerns about who you have the conversations in front of, our teachers do the appointments from their own classrooms for convenience, load-balancing on the wifi, and noise control, which also means no-one hears anything they shouldn't (unlike when you cram the parents into the hall, of course!). Parents will be at home/work, and I think it is their responsibility to sanitise their end of the call. There is of course a slight increased risk from a safeguarding viewpoint if a teacher sees/hears something concerning in the background of the house.

 

A few things to be aware of - can two parents join at once, e.g. mum and dad from different homes/locations? Can two teachers join at once, e.g. shared classes? I suggest teachers print out the information they need, so they're not wasting time flicking around between applications on screen and/or risking a screen share accident.