FPF Comments on the FTC and Department of Education Student Privacy and Ed Tech Workshop
On November 17, 2017, the Future of Privacy Forum filed comments with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Education in conjunction with their upcoming workshop, to be held on December 1st.
The workshop will examine the privacy issues inherent to the use of educational technology in schools, and consider the intersection of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). FPF’s comments are focused on two areas that merit additional clarity: 1) when schools’ consent to ed tech providers for data collection about students under thirteen years old is sufficient under COPPA; and 2) whether the rights and safeguards typically provided to parents under COPPA accrue to schools when administrators consent to data collection from young students.