Pledge to Safeguard Student Privacy

WHAT’S IN A PRIVACY PROMISE? Several big-name ed tech companies aren’t waiting for Congress to update federal privacy law — they’re moving to protect student data on their own by swearing not to sell it or use it to target advertising at students. The companies, including Microsoft, Amplify, Edmodo and more, are signing the Pledge to Safeguard Student Privacy today. The pledge was hammered out over several months at the urging of Reps. Jared Polis and Luke Messer, who convened a meeting of technology executives and education officials to kick-start the process. The companies also promise to share information with parents, correct any errors — and extend those protections to all of the data they collect. Privacy advocates aren’t impressed. They say the pledge omits key protections. And the list of 13 signatories is missing some major names: Apple, Google, Khan Academy and Pearson, to name a few