Berkeley Law Students Protest Faulty Exam Software EBB

Published
Score
6

Why it matters

UC Berkeley School of Law is facing mounting student opposition to Electronic Bluebook (EBB), mandatory exam software that generated over 150 technical failures during last fall's exam period. The problems included system crashes, failed submission uploads, device malfunctions requiring restarts, and concerns about administrative access to sensitive computer data. This semester, the Student Association of Berkeley Law has documented 57 formal complaints alongside additional anonymous reports and town hall feedback, with particular concern from international students and those in pro bono work.

The school has contacted EBB's developer to address the failures, but privacy risks remain unresolved. Students are now advocating for a return to non-digital exams. The extent of fixes implemented before the current spring exam season is unclear, as is the developer's timeline for addressing the data access concerns that prompted student complaints.

For law school administrators and institutional counsel, this dispute reflects broader questions about technology reliability in legal education—particularly when mandatory systems affect academic evaluation. The privacy implications of requiring administrative access to student devices warrant close attention, especially given the documented failures. Schools implementing similar software should anticipate similar pushback and ensure robust remediation protocols before mandating use in high-stakes settings.

mail

Get notified about new Privacy developments

Primary sources. No fluff. Straight to your inbox.

See more entries tagged Privacy.

Also on LawSnap