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Towards a right to digital education? Constitutional challenges of edtech

Celeste, Edoardo orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-1984-4142, De Gregorio, Giovanni orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-7236-6149 and (2023) Towards a right to digital education? Constitutional challenges of edtech. JIPITEC – Journal of Intellectual Property, Information Technology and E-Commerce Law, 14 (2). ISSN 2190-3387

Abstract
Education is increasingly going digital. The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled students to attend school and college online through the use of often private digital platforms. For many this change has been regarded negatively, yet for some, especially students with disabilities or from remote geographical areas, this opportunity has been essential to access or continue their studies, thus making the right to education, as enshrined in many national and supranational constitutional texts, even more effective. Despite the advantages of introducing a right to access education remotely, this paper examines the constitutional drawbacks of this proposal. The first part of the article argues that a right to digital education should be recognised as a component of the right to quality education in the digital age in terms of possibility for the individual to access educational materials online, as well as a right to acquire sufficient digital skills to fully participate in democratic society. However on the path towards a full implementation of this right lies a structural obstacle: education is not only increasingly digital but also private. The second part of the paper examines the constitutional challenges generated by private actors dominating the edtech sector. While education has usually been conceived of as a public service, increasingly this area of welfare is left in the hands of private actors that have the power to shape the technical and social infrastructures to exercise constitutional rights. The paper concludes with an assessment of existing regulatory frameworks to ensure that private organisations contribute to fostering the right to digital edu- cation.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Digital Education; Edtech; Fundamental Rights; Online Platforms; Regulation
Subjects:Social Sciences > Educational technology
Social Sciences > Law
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > School of Law and Government
Publisher:Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik e.V. (DGRI)
Official URL:https://www.jipitec.eu/issues/jipitec-14-2-2023/57...
Copyright Information:© 2023 The Authors. Everybody may disseminate this article by electronic means and make it available for download under the terms and conditions of the Digital Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license text may be obtained at http://nbn-resolving. de/urn:nbn:de:0009-dppl-v3-en8.
ID Code:28892
Deposited On:10 Aug 2023 09:44 by Vidatum Academic . Last Modified 10 Aug 2023 09:44
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