Meghan Ottolini reports:
A number of high-profile technology companies signed a voluntary commitment in October to protect student data. According to Boston-based educational technology company Cengage, the Federal Trade Commission has monitored the behavior of several of these companies.
The “Pledge to Safeguard Student Privacy” asks companies functioning in education technology to “not sell student personal information,” “not collect, maintain, use or share student personal information beyond that needed for authorized educational/school purposes,” and “Collect, use, share, and retain student personal information only for purposes authorized by the education institution/agency,” among other privacy-driven acts.
Some 150 companies have signed the pledge, including Microsoft, Apple and Google. Cengage’s counsel, Elaine Call, said that while the pledge itself is not a law, there are legal repercussions in breaking the terms.
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