EFF files FTC complaint against Google for deceptively tracking students

To coincide with its "Spying on Students" campaign which launched today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a complaint today with the FTC against google. For what, you ask? Spying on students on Google Chromebooks, and via cloud-based educational software programs under the umbrella Google Apps for Education.

The EFF has found that Google's sync feature allows Google to track, store on its servers, and data mine for non-advertising purposes, records of every Internet site students visit, every search term they use, the results they click on, videos they look for and watch on YouTube, and their saved passwords.

Further, the EFF finds Google hasn't first obtained permission from students or their parents for that practice. Moreover, the tech companies generous donation of Chromebooks to schools also make it impossible for parents to deny Google's data collection.

Did I mention Google publicly declared not to do this? It's true The signed the Student Privacy Pledge, along with 200 other companies. This pledge promises:

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.

It's almost like Google is a big data mining honey pot. Quelle surprise.

If you want to view the complaint, click here.