Nottingham University handed legal letter after being accused of ‘spying’ on students

The University of Nottingham has been issued a legal letter by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP)

The university, alongside 11 others involved in the allegations, received legal letters from the ICJP on Wednesday 29th April.

The move emerged after an investigation conducted by media organisation Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates revealed universities paid private intelligence and security firm to monitor students.

The security firm is believed to have collected analysis and disseminated information relating to students political opinions and activism.

This included monitoring social media and intelligence-styled reporting.

Joe Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), told Al Jazeera it was “shameful” that institutions had “wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds spying on their own students.”

The University of Nottingham  denied that the use of the security firm for horizon scanning constitutes as “spying.”

via Unsplash

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The ICJP’s letters outlined the findings of Al Jazeera’s investigation, including the universities’ overlapping legal risks under data protection law and human rights law.

Órlaith Roe, ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said: “What we’re seeing here is a deeply troubling escalation in the monitoring of lawful pro-Palestinian advocacy on UK campuses. The outsourcing of surveillance to private intelligence firms, without transparency or consent, exposes these universities to legal risks, as well as undermining the principles of universities.”

“Universities should be places where open debate is encouraged, not environments that foster fear and self-censorship. There must now be urgent scrutiny of these practices, and clear accountability for those involved.”

A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “We have used [the company] for horizon scanning specifically in the areas of domestic activism and animal rights. It is not focused on any specific group or political issue and the university does not monitor or share any information related to individuals with this company.”

“The university strongly refutes the accusation that the use of this service for monitoring purposes constitutes ‘spying’ or covert surveillance of our staff and students. The information, which is lawfully gathered, is freely shared in the public domain across a range of platforms including mainstream media reports, social media channels, online forums, etc. The university supports freedom of speech and lawful protest but this activity helps us to identify potential security risks and to keep our campuses safe for our staff and student communities.”

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Featured image via Unsplash