Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Franken asks Google about data collected from students, (Jan 14, 2016)

By Lynn Stanton,TR Daily

Senator Al Franken (D., Minn.) has asked Google, Inc., to explain its data collection and sharing practices with respect to the personal data of K-12 students who use Google for Education products.

In a January 13 letter to Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, Franken said, “While I commend Google’s foray into education technology (‘EdTech’), I am concerned about the extent to which Google may be collecting K-12 students’ personal data and using that information for non-educational purposes without parents’ knowledge or consent.”

Senator Franken cited recent reports that Google “is collecting and using student data for non-educational purposes in a manner that may not be detectable by school administrators, students and their parents,” including a difference in how it treats “student data obtained through its core Google Apps for Education (GAFE) services—products that are deemed educational—[and] how Google treats student data obtained through other Google services that are not deemed educational, such as Google Search, Google Maps, or YouTube.

As a result, Google may be tracking and storing students’ Internet browsing activity, passwords, and video viewing behavior when a student is logged in to their GAFE account or using a Google Chromebook but isn’t actually using GAFE services, the Senator said.

“I am concerned that this collection of data may enable Google to create detailed profiles of the students and ultimately target advertising to them or use the profiles for other non-educational purposes without the students’ knowledge,” he wrote. “Furthermore, I understand that unless a school administrator bars students from accessing non-GAFE services, users may have limited ability to consent to this collection of data or its possible use for non-educational purposes.”

Among the questions to which Franken requested a response by February 12 are (1) the type of data collected when students are signed into their GAFE accounts or using Chromebooks but are not using GAFE services; (2) the purpose for which it collects such data; (3) whether Google uses such data for targeted advertising or for its own business purposes; (4) whether authorization for the data collection could be opt-in; and (5) whether Google shares the information with other parties.

News: Privacy