Regulation & Innovation in the Student Privacy Ecosystem
As edtech becomes increasingly integral to K-12 education, key educational stakeholders are using a number of different governance tools to address the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of the use of student data and protection of student privacy. Legislation and industry self-regulation are two such tools that have gained substantial traction over the past few years.
In 2015, lawmakers introduced student privacy legislation in 46 states and passed 28 new laws in 15 states by September. Additionally, the US House of Representatives introduced updates to FERPA, the seminal student privacy law, and Senators Daines and Blumenthal introduced the Safeguarding American Families from Exposure by Keeping Information and Data Secure (SAFE KIDS) Act.
Tech companies have also begun adding self-imposed regulations. Over 200 companies, including Apple, Google, and Blackboard, have signed the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Software & Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) Student Privacy Pledge. The pledge commits companies to “refrain from collecting, using, or sharing students’ personal information,” and was endorsed by President Obama in January. These and related developments have set up the student privacy ecosystem for even more interesting and novel governance innovations in the coming year.
Of particular note, at the beginning of this month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission against Google “for collecting and data mining school children’s personal information,” in spite of Google’s commitment to the FPF-SIIA Student Privacy Pledge. The EFF states that the pledge is legally enforceable and seeks to hold Google to its pledge commitment using the FTC’s administrative process in an attempt to crossover from the realm of self-regulation into governmental investigation and response. The validity of the EFF complaint has been challenged by the Director of Google Apps for Education and the Future of Privacy Forum.
As diverse student privacy stakeholders continue to use self-regulation, legislation, and other governance tools to address student privacy opportunities and challenges, it is crucial that they seek to balance the protection of student privacy with educational and technological innovation. Student data must be kept private, but regulations must not prevent educators from accessing the tools they need. Groups like iKeepSafe are working to facilitate safe and efficient ed tech adoption, by making it easier for schools to know whether edtech tools are compliant with state and federal regulations. As we look ahead to 2016, we expect that the variety of governance tools available to address current and emerging student privacy issues will only become more robust and effective.
