The Coalition for Fair Digital Education (CEDO) is a group of concerned parents, IT professionals, teachers, and privacy advocates committed to enabling fair and sovereign digital education. The coalition operates as a working group within Internet Society Netherlands (ISOC). We have drafted a manifesto calling for improvements in digital education.
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This initiative covers multiple aspects: from better privacy protection to transparency in data processing. It also advocates for more ethical systems and the teaching of general digital skills instead of training students to use specific commercial products. We aim for an alternative design of digital learning environments that safeguards public values and individual autonomy.
Why CEDO?
Today, children in education receive an online account from a foreign Big Tech company at an early age. Through this account, data can be collected, profiles can be built, and personal information can be used and exploited by these companies. This profiling leads to children being categorized and receiving tailored content that companies deem relevant—before they even discover things for themselves. And that’s not the only issue. Since schools exclusively use “standard” Big Tech solutions, children do not learn about alternative programs or tools. As a result, real digital skills and critical thinking are not developed, making children dependent on a company that profits from their data. The privacy and sovereignty of digital education are under severe pressure, affecting not only students but also teachers and parents, who are forced to use the same systems. Other countries are already ahead in this regard: in Denmark, Google products have been banned in schools in Helsingør municipality, and the German state of Baden-Württemberg has prohibited Microsoft 365.
What Do We Aim to Achieve?
We advocate for the development of an open-source digital infrastructure for learning and educational tools, based on public values such as autonomy, equality, sovereignty, democracy, transparency, accessibility, academic freedom, and privacy-by-design.
To achieve this, raising awareness among students, parents, teachers, and school boards is crucial. Additionally, we aim to involve policymakers by presenting our manifesto.
CEDO is supported by:
