President Obama has announced his Government’s intention to protect student’s data from being exploited for commercial or other use. Obama is proposing the Student Digital Privacy Act which will ensure that data collected on students in the classroom will be used only for educational purposes.
“Today we are taking a series of actions to protect the personal information and privacy of our children…whether they are texting, tweeting, on facebook or instagram or online,” said Obama.
Obama acknowledged that the web had become pervasive, and although the FTC is keeping in check companies and apps that cross the boundary, more needs to be done to protect students.
“We want to make sure kids are being smart and safe online but we need partners and structure where information is not being gathered without their knowledge.”
The act is meant to protect students not just from harmful content, but also prevent marketing companies accessing student personal information or trading of that data.