Federal

Data-Mining Faces New Privacy Rules

By Sean Cavanagh — February 06, 2013 1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Federal Trade Commission recently outlined new policies that seek to close loopholes that the agency says too often allow websites and online services to gather information improperly from students and turn it over to third parties for advertising purposes.

One significant change clarifies that the types of “personal information” that can’t be culled without parents’ approval include geolocation information, photos, and videos.

That restriction is important because those bits of personal information “could be used by those who would seek to cause physical harm to children,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.

The agency, which seeks to protect consumers and curb deceptive and anti-competitive practices, also modified the rules so that they apply to “persistent identifiers,” that can reveal information about users over time and across different websites and services. Those identifiers include IP addresses and mobile device IDs, which can be used to build “massive profiles of children by behavioral marketers,” Leibowitz says.

"[L]et’s be honest: Some companies, especially some ad networks, have an insatiable desire to collect information, even from kids,” Leibowitz adds. “Our children deserve better, and our great American technology companies understand that they can do better.”

Another change, the FTC says, will close a loophole that allows apps and websites directed at children to permit third parties to collect personal information from children through plug-ins, without parents’ permission.

The rules are based on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. That law gave the FTC the power to implement and periodically update rules pertaining to how the law is to be enforced. The newly approved amendments to the rules will go into effect on July 1, 2013.

The modified rules were approved a week after the FTC released a highly critical report arguing that mobile applications and entities throughout the technology industry often fail to prevent children’s personal information from being gathered and turned over to third parties, without parents’ knowledge.

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2013 edition of Digital Directions as Data-Mining Faces New Privacy Rules

Events

School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Teaching Students to Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically
Ready to embrace AI in your classroom? Join our master class to learn how to use AI as a tool for learning, not a replacement.
Content provided by Solution Tree
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Empowering Students Using Computational Thinking Skills
Empower your students with computational thinking. Learn how to integrate these skills into your teaching and boost student engagement.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Republicans Preview Their Education Priorities in a Second Trump Term
In a hearing, Republicans called for more civics education and expressed concerns over "critical race theory" in schools.
5 min read
Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., Chair of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, speaks during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., chair of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, speaks during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools on May 8, 2024, in Washington. At a hearing on Dec. 4, 2024, the subcommittee discussed civics and government curriculum.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal Opinion The Trump Administration Should 'Devolve the Ed Dept.'s Responsibilities to the States'
After six years helming the House ed. committee, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx cuts loose on high points and frustrations of her tenure.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal How Trump Could Roll Back Access to Free School Lunches
Project 2025 and a GOP budget proposal call for axing a federal rule that allows public schools to serve free meals to all students.
5 min read
Cafeteria workers serve student lunches at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income.
Cafeteria workers serve lunches at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif., on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income. A federal school lunch provision that makes it easier for public schools to provide universal free meals may be a target for elimination in President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming term if some conservative activists and lawmakers get their way.
Richard Vogel/AP
Federal A Bill to Kill the Education Department Is Already Filed. Here's What It Says
The bill represents another attempt at a long-term Republican goal.
6 min read
People walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington, June 9, 2022.
People walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington, June 9, 2022. Legislation has been introduced in the Senate to abolish the Department of Education.
Patrick Semansky/AP