PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO THE FTC TODAY: DO NOT WEAKEN STUDENT PRIVACY!
Update: On Oct. 17, the FTC Extended the Deadline for Comments on COPPA until December 9.
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comments before “updating” their regulations on COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the law that was originally passed in 1998. The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy is concerned that the FTC may be considering weakening the law, by allowing for the collection of personal data from kids under 13 by school vendors without parent consent. The deadline for comments is next Wednesday, Oct. 23. A sample, brief message you can send is below, along with instructions. Below that and here are the detailed comments submitted by our Parent Coalition.
Given all the breaches of student data in recent years, the widespread use by schools of surveillance software, data-mining apps, digital programs that deliver so-called “adaptive learning” and behavior modification tools, as well as the ubiquity of sites and apps that display advertising to children, the FTC should be strengthening the COPPA regulations rather than weakening them.
Moreover, we agree with this bipartisan group of Senators, who sent a cautionary letter to the FTC on October 4th, pointing out that the FTC isn’t obligated to issue new regulations until 2023, and urging them not to weaken the law through rewriting the regulations.
If the FTC is going to go ahead with issuing new regulations anyway, it should:
- Continue to require parental consent for any digital collection of CONTINUE READING:Please send a message to the FTC today: do not weaken student privacy! | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy
