MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF CHILDREN’S DATA SHARED WITH ZOOM AND GOOGLE
The below post expresses concerns that are widely shared by parents throughout the country whose children are using programs like Zoom and Google Classroom that have not been thoroughly vetted for privacy and security protections.
by Joel Schwarz, Esq., CIPP
To say that 2020 has proven to be a challenging time for everyone would be an understatement. Nowhere is this more true than in the education space where, with little time to plan , school systems around the country were required to convert in-person programs into remote educational programs, all the while wrestling with ensuring that children who rely on in-school meals still receive them, children’s special needs requirements are still met, etc.
Overall, school administrators, parents, and students alike have risen to the occasion in admirable fashion and deserve our gratitude and appreciation. That said, as the parents of students in the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) (Montgomery County, Maryland), we’ve grown increasingly concerned about some of the technologies deployed to assist in remote learning. Two (2) companies in-particular stand out: Zoom and Google.
Our concern with Zoom stems from the fact that Zoom was never designed for the student/school setting, where there are special sensitivities relating to student privacy and data sharing, as well as FERPA and COPPA requirements. While Zoom bombing (hijacking Zoom’s virtual meetings) has certainly been the most prominent issue in the press, other significant security and privacy concerns with Zoom include:
- Zoom misrepresenting the encryption it uses, claiming to use CONTINUE READING: Montgomery County, MD Parents Concerned About the Privacy and Security of Children’s Data Shared with Zoom and Google | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy
