Industry claims AG’s privacy suit misses mark
The recent lawsuit brought by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas questioning Google’s privacy protections for students misses the mark. The lawsuit alleges Google illegally collected personal information and violated federal and state laws. This is simply not true.
The Software & Information Industry Association represents technology companies and many of them develop world-class education products. Our members work with schools to provide online curriculum, administrative tools such as cloud-based grade books and student information systems, and hardware that helps students connect to a diverse collection of educational materials. All of this technology enables teachers to spend more time educating students and less time on administrative tasks.
Our member companies are dedicated to protecting student privacy. Our association has supported the development of industry best practices including the Student Privacy Pledge and, in recent years, advocated for privacy protective legislation at the state and federal levels. We support measures that effectively protect the privacy of students without placing an undue burden on students, parents, schools or companies to allow for continued access to innovative tools for the classroom.
Education technology companies must follow a robust set of student privacy laws and policies. If a company is not following the applicable laws, we expect and welcome enforcement. The New Mexico lawsuit, however, fails to recognize the nuanced applicability of relevant laws in a school setting.
Our industry is extremely concerned that misinterpretations of the law will lead to unnecessary and time-consuming lawsuits. The AG’s lawsuit, for example, misrepresents the reality. It alleges that Google collects information from students without verifiable parental consent. However, federal student privacy law requires schools disclosing information to technology companies only do so in limited circumstances. Put simply, a company working for a school may only use a student’s information in the way that the school directs them to use the information.
Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, clarifies that a school may provide consent on behalf of parents to a company for the collection of a student’s personal information so long as the collection of that information is for the benefit of the school and not used for any other commercial purposes. Schools are best situated to know the needs of their communities with respect to providing an educational experience to students that is both equitable and privacy-protective.
Finally, the lawsuit alleges that Google’s signing of the Student Privacy Pledge misrepresents their actual behaviors. The lawsuit points to a number of Google products that are not a part of Google’s core services. Google has outlined in various public statements that the core G Suite for Education products adhere to the principles of the Pledge. Noncore products are outside of the scope of the principles of the pledge.
Education technology companies are committed to protecting student privacy. EdTech companies operating in New Mexico must follow a robust framework of laws and local policies intended to protect the privacy of the state’s students. Actions to ensure privacy protections of our most vulnerable are necessary and critical. This lawsuit is not.