Jimmy Woulfe of Irish Examiner reports that Salesian College in Pallaskenry’s system for fingerprinting students for attendance purposes may violate data protection legislation: A fingerprint from each hand is registered on two scanners when students arrive in the morning and return after lunch. The system cuts out an hour’s work every day compiling rolls. However,…
Category: Youth & Schools
Web-monitoring software gathers data on kid chats
Deborah Yao of Associated Press reports that: Parents who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids’ online activities may be unwittingly allowing the company to read their children’s chat messages – and sell the marketing data gathered. Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo,…
Maine backs away from marketing-privacy law
Marisa Taylor reports: The attorney general of Maine has decided not to enforce a controversial law that bans the use of personal information about minors for marketing purposes. The law, which goes into effect Sept. 12, caused an outcry from businesses and institutions, including Yahoo and Lexis-Nexis, that claimed the law unconstitutionally restricted their ability…
ACLU lawsuit says student’s cell phone was illegally searched
John Cox of Network World reports: A middle school honor student who was expelled after authorities searched his cell phone and found evidence of what they claimed were “gang-related activities” now has a lawyer: the American Civil Liberties Union. The Mississippi ACLU this week filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, arguing that the 2008 cell…