Google signs student data privacy pledge
Google, along with for-profit course provider Khan Academy, have signed an Obama-backed student data privacy pledge. The pledge holds its signers accountable for how they use data harvested from student work; among other things they agree not to sell student information, not to use students&rsquo; personal data to behaviourally target advertising to them and to use such data for authorised educational purposes only.
Google added its name to a list of companies that have signed a student-data privacy pledge after President Barack Obama endorsed it in a speech.

During a speech at the Federal Trade Commission this month, the president mentioned the pledge, sponsored by two Washington, D.C.-based organizations: the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote responsible data practices, and the Software & Information Industry Association, the main trade association for the software and digital-content industry.

"It’s the right thing to do. And if you don’t join this effort, then we intend to make sure that those schools and those parents know you haven’t joined this effort,” Obama said.

At the time of Obama’s words on Jan. 12, 75 companies had signed the student privacy pledge. Within a week, the list of signatories went up to 90, according to Education Week. As of Wednesday, they numbered 103.

Among the latest names in education technology to join the group are the nonprofit Khan Academy and Google, the search engine giant that has made headway in the industry with its Chromebook notebook.

“Protecting the privacy and security of all of our users, including students, is a top priority,” a Google spokesperson said. “We’re pleased to see the ed-tech industry come together to support this important issue, and we've signed the pledge to reaffirm the commitments we’ve made directly to our customers.”

The pledge is a voluntary way for companies to make their position on student data clear to the public. Signing the pledge sends a strong message of support for keeping privacy practices transparent.

The pledge holds its signers accountable for how they use data harvested from student work; among other things, they agree not to sell student information, not to use students’ personal data to behaviorally target advertising to them and to use such data for authorized educational purposes only.

The pledge reads as follows: