Google Accused of Spying on Students

But unfortunately for them, Google, along with 200 other companies, signed the Student Privacy Pledge, prohibiting them from using or mining any data from students. He was able to get Katherine an exception that let her use a more private, non-cloud computer for the year, but the next year, Katherine’s school said she would have to switch to a laptop that would exfiltrate everything she did to Google’s data-centers. The attorney further added that Google should seek consent from parents if it wants to use student data to develop more quality in their products.

It all comes back to Google’s Chromebooks (and Google Apps for Education suite) being doled out at school and a “sync” feature, that’s turned on by default, potentially tying personal data to school work, activities and communications. Privacy watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation or EFF has filed a formal complaint against Google with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Foundation says that while Google has stopped automatically scanning Gmail accounts offered through this service, Google has still been serving ads, which can be used to track students. It was Google’s attempt to unseat Apple, whose Macs, MacBooks, and iPads, despite their expensiveness, have become school favorites.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s complaint, Google has stored data without seeking parental permission.

Google said it will soon disable the sync setting in Chrome on Chromebooks used in educational institutions.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Google claims it has done nothing to invade the privacy of students using its laptop educational software, pushing back on accusations from a top advocacy group. The pledge, a voluntary program put together by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software & Information Industry Association, is meant to allow companies to show their commitment to safeguarding student privacy related to the collection, maintenance and use of student personal information.

As part of its larger “spying on students” campaign, EFF employees discovered that when students use Chrome Books provided by Google they open themselves to a host of privacy violations. They can use a series of apps Google tailors specifically for schools, which Google tracks anonymously, as it does with all its services. Google recently hit a bit of a snag when they were found to be taking information from their Google for Education program. “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”.

The EFF doesn’t have a problem with this technology being used in the classroom – it would just rather Google and other companies not try and violate user privacy in doing so, especially from students.

The company whose new slogan is “do the right thing” has run afoul of student privacy advocates.