Children's Privacy: An Evaluation of EdTech Privacy Policies
Resource type
Conference Paper
Author/contributor
- West, Tobi (Author)
Title
Children's Privacy: An Evaluation of EdTech Privacy Policies
Abstract
Due to social distancing requirements at the onset of the pandemic many schools suddenly transitioned to online learning platforms. Additionally, minors create a significant amount of digital assets, often without regard for privacy or future use. Without ill intent, adults may encourage children to create digital assets containing private information, potentially leading to future embarrassment. During the child's younger years, they have the autonomy to create digital assets, yet they do not have the legal right to determine the use or deletion of those assets. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is meant to protect children's privacy and as early adopters of new education technology, eager teachers are deciding which tools to use that may circumvent their school or district's approval processes. As features of their products, Education technology (EdTech) companies may share the data collected from children with third-party service providers to perform data analysis. Those service providers may not share the same compliance level in their privacy policy, putting the privacy and security of consumer data at further risk. This study reviews the privacy policies of three EdTech tools for COPPA compliance based on the Federal Trade Commission's tips for consumers. The report includes information about the privacy implications of third-party data processing, the legal consequences of privacy violations after the collection of minors' digital assets, and an explanation of the privacy policy evaluation reports of EdTech tools provided by Common Sense Media with suggestions for parents, teachers, and school administrators.
Date
2022-11-03
Language
en
Short Title
Children's Privacy
Library Catalogue
ResearchGate
Citation
West, T. (2022, November 3). Children’s Privacy: An Evaluation of EdTech Privacy Policies.
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