This article explores the legitimation of ICTs such as free public cloud services in schools. It is also known that services like these utilise user- generated data to create algorithmic identities (Cheney-Lippold 2011) for purposes not fully known. The point of departure in this study is that such practices clash with the Swedish public educational traditions because they infringe students’ privacy and are therefore problematic in relation to legal regulations that protect personal data,2 such as GDPR.

This study contributes to research on tensions between surveillance of pupils, their right to privacy, and their right to use these services (e.g. Livingstone 2016; Lupton & Williamson 2017).3 Additionally, it builds on previous research within education, i.e. educational governance and learning analytics (e.g. Edwards 2015; Edwards & Carmichael 2012; Roberts- Mahoney et al. 2016; Williamson 2016a, 2016b). Furthermore, this study complements previous research, as it explores how the implementation and use of ICTs such as free public cloud services4 have been legitimated within the Swedish educational sector (e.g. Lindh 2017).