FARO stands for Frontline Record of Online Harms. Technology-related harm usually reaches the public one case at a time: a school in one country, a family in another, each easy to treat as an exception. This directory puts those cases side by side to help grassroots actors see where others face the same issues they do, and to help governments and regulators see the bigger picture of the harms occurring. The directory describes what its records contain. It does not measure how often these harms occur, and a country with few records may simply have little published about it.
How to use this directory: Topics are filterable for FARO reports that have already been created based on these incidents. The harms and response patterns shown are those featured there. To see the incidents used in a country-specific report, choose that country under Country report. Pick a pattern or evidence type to see on the map which countries have matching records. Click a country on the map or in the list to see its records below. Use the filter to search for keywords or specific sources.
Shaded countries have at least one record. Choose a pattern to see where it appears.
At least one matching recordNo matching recordSelected country
Shading shows only that a country has at least one record in this directory that matches your selection, and every shaded country looks the same on purpose. It says nothing about how often these harms occur there. Pattern filters only cover records classified so far, and small countries are easy to miss on a map, so use the list as well.
University of Turin approves online exam proctoring despite student protests
Students objected to the university's approval of camera-based proctoring for remote exams, calling it invasive and 'classist', and hundreds protested, some chaining themselves to the rectorate entrance, then marching. The rector held the approval meeting online from another location and the board of directors also approved the software. The rector set a one-month trial, with a review on 12 April 2021, and said monitoring arrangements would be defined.
University student assaulted and recorded in video circulated online in Kogi State
A male university student was lured to an apartment by six fellow students in Lokoja, Kogi State, where he was stripped naked and physically assaulted. The perpetrators recorded the assault on video and circulated it online, causing it to go viral within the university community. Following a complaint, police arrested and arraigned the six students on charges of cyberstalking and assault.
University student expelled following non-consensual leak of private video
In 2019, a female university student had a private video leaked online without her consent. Following the public circulation of the video, the student was expelled by her university, shifting blame to her and prompting widespread criticism.
Source: Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative
University Student Subjected to Unconstitutional Webcam Room Scan
A university required a student to perform a 360-degree webcam scan of his private room before taking a remote exam. The student challenged the requirement, and a federal court ruled that the compelled scan of his home was an unconstitutional search under the Fourth Amendment.
University Student Union President Suspended Following Leak of Private Video
The Student Union Government President of a Nigerian university was suspended and faced potential academic expulsion after a private, intimate video was leaked and widely shared across social media. The incident was characterized as an act of cyber-extortion, prompting an intervention by a national student association that disputed the university's disciplinary action as a violation of the student's privacy rights. The university administration initiated an investigation to identify the perpetrators responsible for leaking the footage.
Unlawful Biometric Attendance Verification of Students at Università Telematica e-Campus
The Italian Data Protection Authority fined Università Telematica e-Campus 50,000 euros for unlawfully processing students' biometric data between March and November 2024. The university used a facial recognition system integrated into its webinar platform to verify the attendance of adult students enrolled in its online teacher training courses. Students were required to provide mandatory consent to have their faces periodically scanned and matched against their IDs as a condition for taking the course and obtaining their certification, resulting in unlawful biometric surveillance and excessive data retention.
Source: Garante per la protezione dei dati personali
Unlawful Biometric Processing and International Data Transfer of Italian University Students via Respondus Proctoring Software
Starting in April 2020, students at a university in Italy had their sensitive biometric facial data, screen activities, and video recordings captured and analyzed by the 'Respondus' proctoring software during remote exams. The software automatically flagged behaviors deemed suspicious and compiled automated surveillance logs on the students without a valid legal basis or proper student consent. Additionally, this personal and biometric data was transferred to servers in the United States without adequate legal safeguards, violating the students' data privacy rights under the GDPR.
Unlawful Data Processing of Public School Students via Google Chromebooks and Workspace in Danish Municipalities
Students in public schools across several Danish municipalities had their personal data unlawfully transmitted to Google. The municipalities deployed Google Chromebooks and Workspace for Education for schoolwork, which resulted in the continuous collection and transfer of students' personal data to Google for its own purposes, such as product improvement and performance measurement. The Danish Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) ruled that there was no legal basis for these transfers under Danish education law or the GDPR, issuing orders to the municipalities to bring the processing into compliance.
Unwithdrawn earnings returned to work platform with no recovery
A data worker said earnings returned from PayPal to the work platform could not be recovered.
Source: Data Labelers Association
Date source link verified: 22/10/2026
Gig workers pay locked
NigeriaNews article
User Account Permanently Deactivated and Funds Frozen by Payment Platform
An adult male user in Nigeria had his account permanently deactivated immediately after receiving a $290 payment from an international client. The payment platform rejected his appeal and held his funds under its automated compliance and risk systems. The freeze occurred after he attempted to receive money through a newly launched digital wallet integration.
An adult man reported being unable to access or dispose of his funds on a digital wallet platform for three weeks due to changing security measures. Despite sending over ten emails to the platform's customer support, his issue remained unresolved, leaving him unable to access his money.
Venezuelan students using national remote learning platform had educational data exposed to third-party tracking systems
Cada Familia Una Escuela, Venezuela's national remote learning platform, is listed by HRW among 56 government-built or government-financed educational products found transmitting children's data to advertising technology companies. HRW's table shows it has no privacy policy.
Victoria, Australia – primary-aged children access pornography at school
In June 2015, primary-school students in Melbourne accessed pornographic images on school iPads after an error in the school's internet filtering system allowed inappropriate images to appear through a search-engine image search. The school investigated the incident and corrected the filtering issue.
A female high school student was physically assaulted and had her uniform torn by classmates who recorded the incident on a mobile phone. The video of the attack was subsequently uploaded to and circulated on YouTube, causing the student to be publicly exposed and humiliated.
Violent animal-killing video shared in middle school class WhatsApp chat
A first-year pupil at a middle school in Reggio Emilia shared a graphic video in a class WhatsApp group showing a sheep being slaughtered, upsetting and disturbing many classmates. Parents reacted immediately, expressing concern about the impact on children and consulting a lawyer. Some considered filing a complaint with prosecutors and criticized the school's response. In reply, the headteacher argued that the incident occurred outside school through a privately created WhatsApp chat on students' personal smartphones and therefore was not directly within the school's control. The school nevertheless addressed the incident by discussing it with students, incorporating it into citizenship education activities, conducting classroom discussions about social media and shared content, and highlighting existing programmes on legality, digital responsibility, and online behaviour.
Virtual Assistant Suffers Significant Monthly Revenue Loss From Platform Commissions
An adult virtual assistant based in the Philippines experienced sustained monthly financial losses due to a freelancing platform's commission structure. The freelancer lost approximately ₱20,000 every month in service fees paid to the platform.
Washington State Parent Sues Educational Technology Provider Over Unauthorized Student Data Tracking and Sale
A parent in Washington State and her school-aged children had their sensitive educational, medical, and behavioral data collected, tracked, and commercialized without parental consent through mandatory school software. The data was allegedly sold to over 100 third-party commercial partners to predict and profit from the children's future trajectories. The parent filed a class-action lawsuit against the platform operator, and a federal judge subsequently ruled that their privacy and unjust enrichment claims could proceed.
WhatsApp chat targeting 500 members spread pornographic images to hundreds of middle school students
A WhatsApp group involving hundreds of middle school students in two Italian municipalities expanded rapidly and began circulating pornographic images and other inappropriate content. The incident raised concerns among parents, schools, and local authorities about young people's unsupervised use of social media and messaging platforms. Authorities intervened to shut down the group, while schools and community organizations promoted awareness initiatives focused on responsible digital citizenship and safer online behaviour.
WhatsApp group with over 700 middle school students circulated Nazi imagery and sexual content involving children
A WhatsApp group with more than 700 participants, many of them middle school students, was found to be circulating child sexual abuse material, pornographic content, and Nazi imagery. The discovery prompted reports to parents, school authorities, and law enforcement agencies, leading to an investigation into the origin and dissemination of the material. The case highlighted concerns about the scale at which harmful and potentially illegal content can spread through youth messaging networks and the challenges schools face in responding to digital misconduct among students.
Wisconsin, USA – kindergartener accesses explicit content on school-issued device at home
A mother reported that her 5-year-old child accessed a pornography website and other inappropriate content on a school-issued device at home, after the school district in Wisconsin, USA, acknowledged the device's content filter was not properly deployed outside the school network for roughly two months. The mother raised the issue during a public school board meeting, and the district disputed some details of her account while confirming the filter gap existed. The district said the gap was fixed within hours of discovery but was not proactively disclosed to all affected families. This case involves an explicit dispute between the parent's account and the district's internal review findings.
Source: The Ohio Star / Daily Caller News Foundation
Worker banned with over 200 dollars held and no usable payout method
A worker says they completed over 200 dollars of work and that the funds are still held in their account after it was permanently banned. They say the payout method the platform offers is unavailable to them because of that ban, and that repeated requests for an alternate method went unanswered. They report the issue has lasted several weeks.
A reviewer says their access was cut off without notice and the account was deactivated by an automated flag. They say 127.65 dollars for about 17 hours of tracked work is being withheld. BBB shows no company response to the review.
Worker deactivated with 5,576.25 dollars of pay pending approval
A contractor active since May 2026 says the platform deactivated their account as unavailable for new projects, citing work below a quality bar or a terms violation, with no specific violation identified. They report 5,576.25 dollars of earnings marked pending approval for submitted work that they cannot get reviewed because they are locked out, and no response from support. They withdrew 80 dollars that had reached available status.
Worker deactivated with a week of pay withheld after asking about it
A worker says they worked 8 hours 27 minutes at 25 dollars an hour in late August 2025 and were not paid. After they asked about the missing payment, they say the account was deactivated with payments withheld, citing guideline violations. About 211 dollars follows from the stated rate and hours; the complaint gives no total. BBB lists the complaint as Unanswered by the business.
Worker locked out of payment account while client payments keep arriving
A reviewer who uses the account for work says it was closed without notice over an alleged duplicate account. The platform had itself deactivated the other account. He says he has been locked out for days while payments continue to arrive and he cannot reach them, and that this is causing financial damage. Support replied only with copy-paste responses and no timeline.
Worker owed nearly 1,000 dollars after four weeks, then told work was below standard
A worker says they had gone over four weeks without payment and were owed nearly 1,000 dollars, with the payments team never contacting them directly. They say an intermediary then told them the work was below quality standards, which they dispute, while bonuses below 100 dollars for the prior two weeks were paid. BBB lists the complaint as Unanswered by the business.
Worker owed over 1,300 dollars with no new payout link provided
A worker says they are owed over 1,300 dollars for completed work and cannot receive it because the platform has not provided a new payout link, although their payout account is verified and in their name. They report repeated requests and multiple tickets with little to no meaningful response. The platform replied on 5 May that someone would reach out.
Worker owed over 10,000 dollars pending for several months
A worker says they are owed over 10,000 dollars for completed work, pending for several months, because the platform has not provided a new payout link. They report numerous support tickets and repeated contact attempts with no meaningful progress. The platform replied the same day that someone would reach out.
Worker owed over 7,000 dollars for approved work pending for months
A worker says they are owed over 7,000 dollars for completed and approved work that has been pending for several months because the platform has not provided a new payout link. They say their payout account is verified and in their legal name and that several attempts to resolve it directly failed. The platform replied the next day that it would forward the details for investigation, and BBB lists the complaint as Resolved after the complainant said that response was satisfactory.
Worker removed from project and owed hundreds of dollars for tasks from months earlier
A worker says they were removed from an entire project and that they are owed hundreds of dollars for tasks from months earlier, plus referral payments. They describe support as unresponsive and say their concerns are ignored. They say this was their main source of income. BBB lists the complaint as Unanswered by the business.
Worker removed with 488 dollars of final-week pay not released
A reviewer says their account was removed without specifics about the alleged violation, its timing, or a chance to respond. They say 488 dollars for their final week of work has not been released. BBB shows no company response to the review.
A worker posted in an online discussion that the platform robbed them of 30 hours of pay, saying they are a real person who showed up and worked hard. The post drew 52 comments, and the article notes one commenter questioned whether it was authentic. The article states no dates, account status or platform response for this worker.
Each record is a short summary of an incident described in a public source or collected through an interview by SHIELD or its partners. Records are reviewed by people before they appear here. Names and identifying details are removed: where a person appears, a role, age band and gender stand in for the name, and dates and places for minors are generalised. Every record links to its original source and shows the date that link was last checked. Records are classified with shared harm categories. The classification is SHIELD's own, so it can differ from how a source describes the incident.
Using the directory
You are welcome to read, link to and quote individual records with credit to FARO. Please do not copy, scrape or republish the dataset in bulk, or use it to train or test automated systems, without written permission. To ask for permission, use the SHIELD contact form. The original sources keep their own rights, and the link on each record leads to them.
How to cite
SHIELD-APS. Frontline Record of Online Harms (FARO). DIRECTORY-URL. Accessed [date]. To cite a particular selection, use the web address shown after you set the filters.
When you rely on the facts of an incident, cite the original source it links to. When you rely on the classification, the patterns or the country report, cite FARO. Please describe the records as documented incidents and do not present counts or country coverage as how often these harms happen. A country with few records may simply have little published about it.
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If a record is wrong, a link no longer works, or you are described in a record and want it changed or removed, use the SHIELD contact form and include the title of the record. We review each request and update or remove the record where the request is justified.
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