Senators urge Trump administration to protect student data in rush to online schooling
The letter was written to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons and FTC Commissioners Noah Phillips, Rohit Chopra, Rebecca Slaughter and Christine Wilson. The FTC is the federal agency responsible for enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Education Department is responsible for enforcing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
(I have written to both agencies asking about the issue and will publish any responses I get.)
The senators noted that online education can help students keep learning while they are staying home for an undetermined amount of time.
“However, many ed tech offerings collect large amounts of data about students and do not employ adequate privacy or security measures,” they wrote. “Experts have found ‘widespread lack of transparency and inconsistent privacy and security practices in the industry for educational software and other applications used in schools and by children outside the classroom for learning.’ And the Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned that ‘[m]alicious use of [student] data could result in social engineering, bullying, tracking, identity theft, or other means for targeting children.’”
In developing guidance, the senators urged the agencies to consider the following proposals: CONTINUE READING: Senators urge Trump administration to protect student data in rush to online schooling - The Washington Post
Big Education Ape: Advice to parents whose children’s schools are being closed to stem the spread of coronavirus | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/03/advice-to-parents-whose-childrens.html
