New Data Privacy Regulations Prepared for Schools in the US
In the US, concerns about children’s online privacy have grown with the collection and sale of user information on the Internet. This has made new privacy legislation, particularly for children, a priority for federal and state policymakers. School privacy experts have raised concerns about how these new policies may affect the day-to-day operations of schools. Schools use student data to support decision-making, personalize learning, and produce legally compliant reports.
On 15 April, in a webinar hosted by the Software and Information Industry Association, privacy experts discussed three bills under consideration in Congress and their potential impact on K-12 schools. The Child Online Safety Act would require online platforms to disable addictive features and limit personalized recommendations for children. Experts stress that this bill could also affect edtech platforms and threaten the integrity of academic records if student data is deleted.
On the other hand, the Children and Young People’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the American Privacy Bill of Rights prohibit online platforms from collecting personal information from users aged 13 to 16 without their consent and prevent targeted advertising to children. While these laws are not expected to directly affect the educational services provided by schools, they may have some indirect effects on schools and contractors. In particular, if a school district uses adaptive learning software and students and parents are able to opt out of the system, this may negatively impact the ability of teachers to provide personalized assignments to students. These developments make it imperative that schools and ed-tech vendors closely monitor privacy laws and efforts to protect students’ online privacy.