Proctorio’s lawsuit against former UBC staff member Ian Linkletter ended last week, after a five-year saga over tweets Linkletter posted that Proctorio alleged violated their copyright.
Linkletter announced the end of the lawsuit on his blog last Thursday. He wrote that the exam proctoring service filed a consent dismissal order (CDO) in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, ending the suit on Nov. 12, while keeping an injunction in place that prevents him from accessing the Proctorio help centre or academy.
“I’ve won my life back!” He stated.
“It has been 1,899 days, each one of them felt,” Linkletter wrote. “My patience, determination, and resilience were tested, but I persisted, and an immeasurable weight has now been lifted.”
The lawsuit began in 2020, when Linkletter, then working as a learning technology specialist in the Faculty of Education, shared a number of Proctorio’s unlisted YouTube videos on X (then Twitter), which the company called at the time “confidential and proprietary.” Proctorio then sued Linkletter for copyright infringement.
Linkletter said he shared Proctorio’s videos to criticize surveillance-based assessment tools. He has been a vocal critic of UBC’s usage of Proctorio, which it used for invigilating online exams during the COVID-19 pandemic. The university’s senate restricted its use in March 2021 over ethical concerns.
In response to the company’s legal action, Linkletter filed an anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) application in October 2020. According to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, SLAPPs are lawsuits that often have “little merit,” but tend to shut down debate on matters of public concern.
When the BC Supreme Court decided against his application in 2022, Linkletter appealed to the BC Court of Appeal, which upheld the original judgment. Linkletter then applied to the Supreme Court of Canada, which declined to hear his case last year. Its dismissal meant that Proctorio was able to pursue its original suit against Linkletter.
Past coverage of Proctorio v. Linkletter
- Proctorio v. Linkletter, one year in
- Court hears appeal from former UBC staff member on mostly-refused anti-SLAPP application against Proctorio
- Former UBC staff member files application for Supreme Court of Canada to hear case
- Supreme Court of Canada rules against hearing former UBC Staff members anti-SLAPP case
Linkletter wrote that while the CDO dismissed all claims against him, it leaves the “general framework” of a 2022 injunction against him, preventing him from accessing or sharing material from the Proctorio help centre or academy, unless it comes from a public source.
“This is completely fine with me. It doesn’t meaningfully restrict my freedom of expression in any way. I haven’t had access to these sources for years, and I don’t need them,” he stated. “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students. I can say everything that matters about Proctorio using public information.”
Linkletter explained in an email to The Ubyssey he initially stood up to Proctorio to “defend students,” but rather than the company responding to criticism, “Proctorio sues its critics” for expressing valid concerns.
“This is unacceptable and disqualifying for a company that purports to ensure academic integrity,” he wrote in the email.
“Proctorio filed this lawsuit to silence me … I hope the Protection of Public Participation Act can be strengthened in the future to protect British Columbians from litigious companies who can’t demonstrate harm.”
While the legal battle is over, Linkletter says his advocacy will continue — now without a lawsuit hanging over him.
“My goal is to prevent students from being harmed by academic surveillance software ever again … I intend to advocate for mandatory Algorithmic Impact Assessments at every B.C. public post-secondary institution.”
Proctorio did not respond to The Ubyssey’s request for comment by publishing time.
