Ian Linkletter
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linkletter.org
Ian Linkletter
@linkletter.org
1.7K followers 910 following 350 posts
Emerging Technology & Open Education Librarian fighting for freedom of expression, access to information, and fair dealing rights.
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linkletter.org
Is the Microsoft Teams logo supposed to look like it's out of a horror movie?
Microsoft Teams logo featuring the letter "T" and two human figures attached to one another, with unattached heads.
November 7, 2025 at 12:00 AM
linkletter.org
I reported it as phishing and received this weird message, which I also reported.
Screenshot of an email from the “Security and Compliance Team” with the subject “Thank you for reporting a phish!”. The message congratulates the recipient, Ian Linkletter, for reporting a phishing email as part of an internal anti-phishing education campaign. A yellow banner at the top warns: “CAUTION: This email originated from outside of BCIT. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.” The body of the email thanks Ian for helping protect the company from phishing attacks and reminds him to continue reporting suspicious messages.
October 24, 2025 at 8:51 PM
linkletter.org
Earlier this month, Temple University published new Proctorio documentation confirming that Proctorio still tracks head and eye movement in 2025.

Recording this as evidence of five years of harm.

foxonline.temple.edu/wp-content/u...
Screenshot of Proctorio from Temple University website. Interface showing 'Environmental Abnormalities' with two monitoring indicators: 'Audio Levels' represented by a speaker icon and sound bars, and 'Head and Eye Movement' represented by a head silhouette with arrows indicating movement. A note below states: 'Abnormal head movement will highlight test takers...
September 25, 2025 at 2:49 AM
linkletter.org
“Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams, Google is trying to make instructors give up on regulating AI in their classroom, and it might work. Chrome has the market share to change student behavior, and it appears this is the goal.” wapo.st/47OPRzL
“Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams,” says Ian Linkletter, a librarian at the British Columbia Institute of Technology who first flagged the issue to me. “Google is trying to make instructors give up on regulating AI in their classroom, and it might work. Google Chrome has the market share to change student behavior, and it appears this is the goal.”
September 18, 2025 at 4:10 PM
linkletter.org
I have personally tested this and the Homework Help link is now appearing everywhere in Canvas *except* Quizzes.

The relevant flag in Google Chrome is "Lens Overlay EDU action chip" but as you can see, the "triggering criteria" targeting every LMS is not explained. Is it based on contents or URL?
A Google Chrome "Experiments" page (chrome://flags) showing the search result for "Lens Overlay EDU." The highlighted experiment is titled "Lens Overlay EDU action chip" with a description: "Enables Lens Overlay EDU action chip. Intended for testing the chip itself, not its triggering criteria. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS." The status dropdown on the right is set to "Default". The Chrome version shown is 140.0.7339.133.
September 16, 2025 at 11:39 PM
linkletter.org
I needed to edit linkletter.org yesterday.

Proctorio will drag this out as long as they can. I was 36 when I was sued, now I'm 41. One day I will be free from this meritless lawsuit, but I will never be defeated and have the pro bono legal counsel needed to sustain the fight as long as it takes.
My name is Ian Linkletter, I'm a librarian from Vancouver, BC. On September 2nd, 2020, I was sued for copyright infringement by Proctorio, Incorporated because I cited and linked to their own YouTube videos in 7 critical tweets. This website compiles my statements and updates related to Proctorio's lawsuit, which has continued now for over five years ("over" is highlighted to emphasize an edit).
September 4, 2025 at 2:18 AM
linkletter.org
OpenCV's "failure to detect rate" is highest for people with darker skin tones, people with head coverings, and people with glasses.

Racism, cultural discrimination, and ableism. Guess which remote proctoring tool contains all 3?

Research link: racismandtechnology.center/wp-content/u...
A comparison of six individuals used to demonstrate face detection performance by OpenCV, with three dark-skinned individuals not detected ("N") and three lighter-skinned individuals detected ("Y"). Below each image are metrics: Estimated FTDR (Failture to Detect Rate), Skin Lightness (L*), Head Covering (Y/N), and Glasses (Y/N). The three undetected individuals have darker skin tones (L* values ~30–31), all wear glasses and head coverings, and have high FTDRs (~76–79%). The three detected individuals have lighter skin tones (L* values ~60–62), no glasses or head coverings, and very low FTDRs (~0.34–0.42%).
July 29, 2025 at 11:36 PM
linkletter.org
New research confirms previous findings that OpenCV, the open source facial detection software used by Proctorio, is racially biased.

Performance Differentials in Deployed Biometric Systems Caused by Open-Source Face Detectors: racismandtechnology.center/wp-content/u...
Testing of AI systems is important for ensuring accuracy and re- liability. In this study, we demonstrate how scenario testing with demographically varied subjects, a form of prospective testing that simulates real-world conditions, revealed significant performance issues in biometric systems prior to broad deployment. Using gener- alized linear modeling, we show that subjects’ measured skin light- ness, along with other demographic factors, significantly impacted the probability of failure to detect a face. Failure rates increased from just 0.28% for subjects with the lightest skin in our sample to 24.34% for subjects with the darkest, controlling for other fac- tors. We show that skin lightness, rather than self-reported race, best explained the differences in system performance. We trace these issues to widely used, older methods in open-source packages for face detection. Furthermore, this demographic differential is not observed when testing open-source packages using a different, more curated dataset. Our results highlight the need to evaluate full multi-component, operationally deployed AI systems and the role of scenario testing as a critical component of AI governance. One way to mitigate the likelihood that poor-performing, older open source methods are deployed in an operational system would be to deprecate these functions in favor of higher-performing al- ternatives. Prospective assessments of AI, in real-world use cases with demographically varied subjects, should be used to identify performance issues before these systems are operationalized.
July 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
linkletter.org
University of Cape Town is discontinuing use of Turnitin's AI detector.

"AI detection tools including the one available in Turnitin have been found to be unreliable in university contexts, often producing false positives or negatives or easily being subverted."

www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-202...
"Responding to unacceptable AI use. AI detection tools including the one available in Turnitin have been found to be unreliable in university contexts, often producing false positives or negatives or easily being subverted. Unlike traditional plagiarism checkers, AI detection tools rely on statistical methods to estimate the likelihood that a piece of text was generated by AI. This can lead to wrongful accusations of academic misconduct, damaging trust between lecturers and students, and creating an adversarial learning environment. At UCT, the Senate Teaching and Learning committee has decided to discontinue the use of the AI detection score in Turnitin effective 1 October 2025."
July 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
linkletter.org
Bluesky doesn't like SVG files. This is the new Instructure logo.
"Instructure" with a red period at the end
July 23, 2025 at 11:02 PM
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The Canvas logo still looks like a coronavirus to me.
Canvas by Instructure logo featuring a circular red icon made of semi-circles and dots.
July 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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The OpenAI integration is not the only thing Instructure announced today. Here is their new logo.

"The updated identity signals a modern, dynamic and future-ready approach designed to advance learning. Instructure is setting potential in motion."

www.instructure.com/press-releas...
Logo consisting of "Instructure" with a red period at the end
July 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM
linkletter.org
In 2016, Piazza was criticized for selling student data to third parties such as Palantir. They argued that they were not selling it, just providing access to it via their platform. But in public documentation, I found proof that the data could be exported and shared it online.
"Piazza Careers Can I message students off your platform? Yes, you can message students off the Piazza Careers platform! To do this, you can export students' information, which will come with an Excel file including their emails, and reach out to them on your own time. (Learn how to export here.) Back to Support Home Can't find your answer? Reach out to our customer success team: customersuccess@piazza.com"
June 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
linkletter.org
Piazza is a course discussion platform used by many colleges and universities. Piazza requires students to provide the following information when signing up.

From 2017-2019, Palantir Technologies paid Piazza $916,000 for access to this data. www.sec.gov/Archives/edg...
"Add additional information to your Piazza profile Diversity & Inclusion – select one or more (required) Let's harness the power of human difference to help solve some of the world’s hardest problems with employers on Piazza Network. A list of checkboxes follows, labeled as: Female Male Non-binary American Indian or Indigenous Peoples Asian Black or African American Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander White or Caucasian Veteran or served in the Armed Services First-generation college student Living with a disability Member of the LGBTQ community National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Each of the 3 sections above are required by the Piazza Network." "Add additional information to your Piazza profile" Checkboxes from previous screenshot continue: "- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) - Society of Women Engineers (SWE) - Women in Computer Science (WiCS) - Prefer not to share" Next, a section titled: "Visa requirement to work in the U.S. (required) - I am a US citizen - To work in the US, I do not require sponsorship for an employment authorizing status or visa immediately, nor in the future - To work in the US, I will require sponsorship for an employment authorizing status or visa in the future - To work in the US, I will require sponsorship for an employment authorizing status or visa immediately - Not applicable / Prefer not to share Next is a field labeled: "Personal email (non-school, example: name@email.com) (required)" "Employers may need to use this to communicate with you as part of the Piazza Network." "Each of the 3 sections above are required by the Piazza Network."
June 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
linkletter.org
Texas Tech University will no longer use Proctorio. Last year, my research about this school's use of Proctorio on K-12 students was profiled in The Guardian.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...
RaiderCanvas Support section of Texas Tech University’s website: "Will I still have access to Respondus and/or Proctorio? Faculty will still have access to Respondus Lockdown; however, we will no longer use Proctorio. Proctorio will no longer be available after Summer II 2025 courses are over. We will be using Respondus Monitor, which requires the Respondus LockDown Browser."
June 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
linkletter.org
These days I'm immersed in the Government of Canada's Algorithmic Impact Assessment tool, which we are piloting at BCIT as a way to protect students. It asks this string of questions as part of a longer questionnaire. Here's what I put for remote proctoring. www.canada.ca/en/governmen...
Risk Profile - Is the project within an area of intense public scrutiny (e.g. because of privacy concerns) and/or frequent litigation? Yes [Points: +3] - Are clients in this line of business particularly vulnerable? Yes [Points: +3] - Are stakes of the decisions very high? Yes [Points: +4] - Will this project have major impacts on staff, either in terms of their numbers or their roles? Yes [Points: +3] - Will the use of the system create or exacerbate barriers for persons with disabilities? Yes [Points: +4]
May 24, 2025 at 12:52 AM
linkletter.org
Proctorio filmed students without permission and I caught them. Proctorio went to Arizona State University's campus and recorded students sharing their experiences with remote proctoring.

They did not receive permission to do this, as you can see from my FOI request.
Screenshot of a public records request to Arizona State University about Proctorio filming, stating no responsive records were found. Arizona State University's NextRequest portal shows public records request number 24-455, marked as "Closed." The request was received on December 6, 2024, and asked for documents related to filming permits, consent form templates, approvals, and email correspondence concerning commercial on-campus filming by a company called Proctorio, Incorporated. The requester notes the filming date is unknown, but the commercial videos were published in November 2024. The response from ASU states that no responsive records were found, and the request was closed on January 31, 2025. The request visibility is marked "Unpublished."
April 21, 2025 at 9:54 PM
linkletter.org
Ohio State University is having a bad experience getting rid of Proctorio. Turns out there is all this hidden HTML code that must be removed.

Be careful not to contract Proctorio. It's easy to get and hard to get rid of.

teaching.resources.osu.edu/toolsets/car...
Canvas HTML editor with Proctorio-related code highlighted and instruction to remove HTML referencing Proctorio.
April 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM
linkletter.org
Previously, University of Minnesota's accessibility office cautioned that Proctorio is inaccessible to some users.
"Some users of disability-related adaptive technologies may experience Proctorio as an inaccessible application. In these cases, instructors would be advised to exempt that student from using Proctorio and seek an alternative solution."
April 10, 2025 at 9:45 PM
linkletter.org
University of Minnesota is preparing to stop using Proctorio and created a help page showing instructors how to turn Proctorio off in Canvas.

Done invading student privacy with academic surveillance? You can follow these steps too. Flex your freedom and turn it off.

it.umn.edu/services-tec...
Screenshot of Quiz Settings in Canvas, with red arrow pointing to "Enable Proctorio Secure Exam Proctor" checkbox, showing faculty how to turn off Proctorio for good.
April 10, 2025 at 9:30 PM
linkletter.org
The City of Kelowna didn't do a Privacy Impact Assessment for their 2023 chatbot.

www.secretcanada.com/search-foi-r...
Institution: City of Kelowna, British Columbia Disposition: No Such Records Summary: A copy of the completed Privacy Impact Assessment related to the AI chatbot developed in partnership with Microsoft to expedite building permit applications. Date: 2023-04-27 Request number: 2023-037
April 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
linkletter.org
Oh great, Microsoft Teams wants my voiceprint and faceprint. Somehow I doubt Privacy Impact Assessments have been conducted for this new collection and use of biometric data.
Voice Your voice profile is used to suppress background noises in Teams meetings through voice isolation. When using an intelligent speaker, your voice profile is used to identify you in meeting transcripts. Manage and delete your profile anytime from this device. Takes about 30 seconds. [Privacy policy] [Create voice profile button] Face Your face profile is used to automatically recognise, display your name during meetings, add your name to participant list as you walk into a Microsoft Teams Rooms with supported equipment. Manage or delete your face profile anytime from settings. It takes about 30 seconds. [Privacy policy] [Create face profile button]
April 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
linkletter.org
ChatGPT Plus is free for students in the US and Canada until the end of May. I am deeply concerned about all the private student data they will collect to authorize the promo. help.openai.com/en/articles/...
How do you know I’m a student? We verify student status using SheerID’s secure verification system, which confirms your eligibility through multiple methods: Authoritative Sources: SheerID first checks trusted databases, such as your university's Office of the Registrar, to instantly verify your student status. Single Sign-On (SSO): If necessary, you’ll be prompted to log in securely with your school's SSO credentials, confirming your affiliation directly through your institution. What if I’m from a university included in the offer but am having an issue with verification? If instant verification isn't possible through these methods, you may be asked to upload additional documentation for manual review to SheerID. Data submitted directly to SheerID for manual review is only processed by SheerID to conduct the verification process. Please contact the SheerID help center for assistance. Is the additional information provided for manual review only used for verification? The information is used primarily for verification purposes. It is uploaded to SheerID to generate a verification result (approve/reject). Is the data for manual verification uploaded to us or to SheerID? The additional data is uploaded to SheerID. SheerID collects the personal data directly from the consumer and obtains consent for processing based on the privacy policies of its customer (the Controller). For instant verification, is the data collected under SheerID’s privacy policy or ours? For instant verification, data is collected and processed under SheerID’s privacy policy, with the consumer’s consent obtained prior to processing.
April 3, 2025 at 6:48 PM
linkletter.org
(Contains synthetic image created by ChatGPT)

Make the Kool-Aid Man in Simpsons style. No, not like that.
Simpsons Kool-Aid Man. ChatGPT-generated yellow cartoon pitcher character with ice cubes and a smiling face, holding a small yellow pitcher and shouting “OH, YEAH!” in a speech bubble.
March 28, 2025 at 3:50 AM
linkletter.org
Info about Turnitin Clarity is scarce, but here's a screenshot briefly shown in a video. The student's paper is called "Does the US Constitution Defend Our Rights?".

Specific writing flags include:
• Shorter writing time than cohort
• Minimal revision
• Pasted text
• AI detection
Screenshot of Turnitin's Feedback Studio interface showing a student's submission titled 'Does the US Constitution Defend Our Rights?' The 'Writing Report' panel flags concerns such as 'shorter writing time than cohort,' 'minimal revision,' 'reliance on pasted text,' 'AI detected,' and '3 blocks of pasted text.' A timeline at the bottom marks key writing sessions. A green 'Instructor' label points to text explaining that the timeline helps instructors quickly review moments of interest. The interface features a blue gradient background with a Turnitin Clarity promotional banner at the top.
March 6, 2025 at 2:56 AM