Increasing concerns about how companies collect and sell user information and how it impacts their mental health have led federal and state policymakers to focuses on data privacy efforts.
Lawmakers have introduced several data privacy bills, some of which directly address children's online privacy. According to Bloomberg Law, at least 15 states have enacted comprehensive data privacy laws since 2020, while other states have enacted more restrictive laws or at least changed data privacy laws during the current Congress. The law is being introduced..
School data privacy experts say the problem with some of these policies is that they don't necessarily consider how they affect day-to-day school operations. Schools use student data to support decision-making, personalize learning, and better report as required by federal and state law.
In an April 15 webinar hosted by the Software & Information Industry Association, data privacy experts discussed three bills Congress is considering and how they would affect K-12 schools. did. The experts are: Amelia Vance, founder and president of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Interest Privacy Center; Kristin Woolfel, policy advisor at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organization that advocates for online civil liberties. Sarah Crook, vice president of education and children policy at SIIA, a trade association for technology companies.
Kids online safety law
Kids online safety law, or KOSA, was first introduced in the Senate in February 2022 by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). The bill failed to pass during the session, so lawmakers reintroduced it in May. 2023. As of April 2024, the bill has 67 co-sponsors in the Senate.
KOSA will require certain online platforms to provide children with options to protect their information, disable addictive features, and opt out of personalized recommendations. These platforms will also be required to design and operate their products in a way that prevents or reduces negative impacts on children, such as mental health disorders, bullying, and sexual exploitation. The bill would apply to “any online platform, online video game, messaging application, or video streaming service that is connected to the Internet and is used, or is reasonably likely to be used, by a minor.” is. Internet service providers, email services, educational institutions, and certain other entities are exempt from the requirement.
“This bill appears to be in response to much of the attention surrounding social media and its suggested effects on children,” Werfel said. “I don't think KOSA intended to interfere with K-12 education services.”
However, he said the definition of platforms covered by the bill is “so broad that essentially it would almost certainly cover many ed-tech platforms.”
Given that the bill will give children and parents the right to opt out and change the individualized recommendation system, the Woelfel said that this could affect learning software.
That would “frustrate the purpose of that technology and undermine the core functions of the school,” she added.
Children and parents will also be able to delete their accounts, and the current language could apply to education technology platforms that host student data such as grades, grades and attendance. That, in turn, could “threaten the integrity of the academic record,” Wolfel said.
Children and Youth Online Privacy Protection Act
Children and Youth Online Privacy Protection Actor COPPA 2.0, amends the original Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey first introduced the amendment in May 2021 and reintroduced it in May 2023. As of April 2024, there are 17 co-sponsors in the Senate.
The bill would build on a 1998 law. The bill would prohibit online platforms from collecting personal information from users between the ages of 13 and 16 without their consent (current law only applies to children under 13) and would limit targeting to children. Require companies to ban advertising and allow parents and children to erase personal information. Personal Information from the Platform.
Under the proposed COPPA update, schools no longer need to obtain parental permission to use educational technology in the classroom. COPPA 2.0 allows schools to agree on behalf of students to provide access to educational technology platforms that have been thoroughly vetted and contracted by the school.
Vance, who also heads the Center for Student and Child Privacy at AASA, the school superintendents association, said the update is a step in the right direction for superintendents.
At least 11 educational institutions, including the Superintendent's Group. American Federation of Teachers. The National Education Association; the Council of Metropolitan Schools approved the bill.
But Werfel points out that the bill's definition is limited to public schools, arguing that policymakers should expand the definition to include private schools.
American Privacy Rights Act
American Privacy Rights Act, or APRA, was introduced earlier this month by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. It would establish a unified national data privacy rights framework for Americans and hold companies accountable by requiring strong data security standards.
Like KOSA and COPPA 2.0, APRA provides special protections for children under 17 and may impact schools.
Although the bill says schools would not be required to delete data that interferes with educational services, panelists said it does not provide protections for contractors schools may hire to provide educational services. Ta.
The measure also requires organizations that use algorithms to make “significant decisions about housing, employment, education, health care, insurance, credit, and access to public accommodations” to provide consumers with the right to opt out. It will be mandatory.
Wolfel said he is concerned about what it would mean for schools if students and families were able to opt out of the educational technology that schools use in their daily operations. For example, if a school district uses adaptive learning software that allows students and parents to opt out, teachers' ability to facilitate tailored assignments for students may be compromised.