From EPIC: EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Education Department, following the agency’s failure to release documents about private debt collection and compliance with federal privacy law. The Department has contracts with at least twenty-three private debt collectors who obtain sensitive personal information, including contact information, loan status, income, Social Security number,…
Category: Youth & Schools
Social Security Administration Considers Stronger Privacy Safeguards for SSNs of Children
From EPIC: The Social Security Administration seeks public comment on a proposal to assign new Social Security numbers to children age 13 and under. Currently, the agency may assign new SSNs only if it has evidence that “a third party has improperly used an adult’s or child’s SSN, the number holder was not at fault, and the…
AU: Fight club film breaches privacy
Andrew Brosnan and Luke Eliot: Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan has weighed into the debate on the “fight club” involving Kalgoorlie-Boulder students, saying “it had been going on for ever” but warned uploading footage was a breach of privacy. Mr O’Callaghan said the “fight club” was something police had to respond to because they did not…
New York parents furious at program, inBloom, that compiles private student information for companies that contract with it to create teaching tools
Corinne Lestch and Ben Chapman report: In an unprecedented move, education officials will hand over personal student data to a new private company to create a national database for businesses that contract with public schools. Working with the city, state education officials are already uploading private information about students — their names, addresses, test scores,…