Google Calls Out EFF Over Claims That It Snoops On Students With Chromebooks (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) caused quite a stir this week when it alleged that Google is using its Chromebook platform, which has made a significant impact in education markets, to snoop on students. The charges were damning, with the EFF claiming that Google was violating its own corporate policies and using students' personally identifiable browsing data/habits to refine its services, in addition to sharing that data with partners. Obviously, Google would take such allegations seriously, and has thus responded to every claim brought forth by the EFF. "While we appreciate the EFF's focus on student data privacy, we are confident that our tools comply with both the law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge..." said Jonathan Rochelle, the Director of Google Apps for Education. With respect to Google Apps for Education Core Services (GAFE), Rochelle asserts that all student data stored is "only used to provide the services themselves" and that student data isn't used for advertising purposes, nor are ads served to students. Rochelle also explains that personally identifiable data of students is removed, and only aggregated data of its millions of users is utilized to help improve its services.

Comments

Sounds Familiar

[konohitowa]

I seem to recall a similar response when accused of collecting WiFi data.

Re:Sounds Familiar

[Solandri]

Google self-reported their excessive wifi data collection. Basically a government agency accused them of collecting more wifi data than just SSIDs. Google said, "No, we're only collecting SSIDs. Here, we'll prove it." Then they audited their own records, came back, and said, "Oops, you were right, we accidentally recorded more info than just the SSID."

Contrast this with, say, Microsoft who still won't say what data Windows 10 is collecting. Or Apple, who commandeered people's iPhones to report location and SSIDs back to them (to accomplish what Google did by paying people to drive company cars around), and still haven't admitted it, brushing it off as an oversight instead of prep for their own mapping program. I'm not sure why Google keeps getting brought up as the quintessential example of a bad guy in these privacy issues, when they've been pretty open about what they do and admit when they make mistakes. Other companies are far worse. The way the EU handled the Google case vs. the Apple case basically tells companies: if you accidentally break the law, it is better to obfuscate and deny it, than the be honest and admit it.

Just for balance

[Anonymous Coward]

Since the awful TFA didn't include a link to Google's post defending itself from EFF's accusations even though it quoted from that source, here's the link to it:
http://googleforeducation.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-facts-about-student-data-privacy-in.html

Also here a link to the Student Privacy Pledge that EFF has accused Google of violating:
http://studentprivacypledge.org/

The Student Privacy Pledge will hold school service providers accountable to:

        Not sell student information
        Not behaviorally target advertising
        Use data for authorized education purposes only
        Not change privacy policies without notice and choice
        Enforce strict limits on data retention
        Support parental access to, and correction of errors in, their children’s information
        Provide comprehensive security standards
        Be transparent about collection and use of data.

Here are links to the co-authors of the Student Privacy Pledge stating their objections to the EFF's complaint:
https://fpf.org/2015/12/01/future-of-privacy-forum-statement-regarding-electronic-frontier-foundation-student-privacy-complaint/

In response to the allegations made today that Google has violated commitments of the Student Privacy Pledge (SPP), FPF Executive Director Jules Polonetsky issued the following statement:

“We have reviewed the EFF complaint but do not believe it has merit.

http://blog.siia.net/index.php/2015/12/some-misunderstandings-of-the-student-privacy-pledge/

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Google for violation of the K-12 School Service Provider Pledge to Safeguard Student Privacy. The FTC will assess the complaint on its merits and make a judgment one way or the other. But, it is important to point out that the complaint contains some important misunderstandings about the student privacy pledge.