Washington Post: “In public classrooms across the country, the corporate name that is fast becoming as common as pencils and erasers is Google. More than half of K-12 laptops or tablets purchased by U.S. schools in the third quarter were Chromebooks, cheap laptops that run Google software. Beyond its famed Web search, the company freely offers word processing and other software to schools. In total, Google programs are used by more than 50 million students and teachers around the world, the company says. But Google is also tracking what those students are doing on its services and using some of that information to sell targeted ads, according to a complaint filed with federal officials by a leading privacy advocacy group…”

• Via EFF – Google Deceptively Tracks Students’ Internet Browsing, EFF Says in FTC Complaint – “EFF Launches ‘Spying on Students’ Campaign to Raise Awareness About Privacy Risks of School Technology Tools —The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a complaint today with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Google for collecting and data mining school children’s personal information, including their Internet searches—a practice EFF uncovered while researching its “Spying on Students” campaign, which launched [December 1, 2015].
• Via EFF – Legal Overview: Key Laws Relevant to the Protection of Student Data – “Though they are not perfect, there are several laws that protect student data which apply when schools issue devices or use educational software. Here’s an overview of what you need to know.”