By collecting and storing the personal data of schoolchildren using its tools and programs, Google has broken both its promises as well as trade rules, as per a complaint filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The company contends all of its tools comply with the law.
Google provides schools with Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education (GAFE), the latter of which is a suite of cloud-based productivity programs. These products are specially designed to be a safe place for children to learn, with the company promising not to expose students to any sort of advertisements when using these programs (including Gmail, Drive, and Calendar), and that “users own their data, not Google.”
According to the complaint, the company’s Chromebooks are enabled by default with a feature that synchronizes the laptop’s browsers, and that all recorded data is sent to Google’s storage facilities without first seeking parental permission.
“This allows Google to track, store on its servers, and data mine for non-advertising purposes records of every internet site students visit, every search term they use, the results they click on, videos they look for and watch on YouTube, and their saved passwords,” the EFF said in a statement.
The organization added that Google “uses (the data) for its own purposes such as improving Google products” as well as for better targeting advertisements on the non-core apps.
Nate Cardozo, a lawyer representing the EFF explained that everything Google is being accused of doing directly contradicts the Student Privacy Pledge (which Google is a signatory, among some other 200 companies), positioning the company in direct “violation of FTC rules against unfair and deceptive business practices.”
He adds: “Minors shouldn't be tracked or used as guinea pigs, with their data treated as a profit center. If Google wants to use students' data to 'improve Google products,' then it needs to get express consent from parents.”
The EFF reports Google said it would “soon disable a setting on school Chromebooks that allows Chrome Sync data, such as browsing history, to be shared with other Google services.” While the organization believes it’s a small step in the right direction, it has taken the position that it doesn’t go far enough to correct the violations of the Student Privacy Pledge.
“EFF's filing with the FTC also reveals that the administrative settings Google provides to schools allow student personal information to be shared with third-party websites in violation of the Student Privacy Pledge,” the company wrote in a statement. “The ability to collect and potentially share student information follows children whenever they use Chrome to log into their Google accounts, whether on a parents' Apple iPad, friend's smartphone or home computer.”
A Google spokeswoman said: “Our services enable students everywhere to learn and keep their information private and secure.
“While we appreciate EFF's focus on student privacy, we are confident that these tools comply with both the law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge.”
Worth noting is that back in 2012, Google agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine after the FTC found the company had created a loophole that allowed its digital advertising network to shadow the online activities of users on Apple’s Safari browser without their consent.
Specifically, the Agency found that Google’s Safari surveillance program violated a previously agreed to promise not to mislead consumers about privacy issues, which came after Google, in setting up its failed social networking platform Buzz in 2010, exposed people’s email contacts. As part of the settlement with the FTC, Google agreed to period privacy audits.
A spokesman for the FTC has not issued a statement regarding the EFF’s complaint against Google.
Via the BBC
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