Google Slapped With FTC Complaint Over Tracking Students’ Internet Browsing

On Tuesday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a complaint against search engine giant Google over the collection of data and mining information of school students’ personal information, including its Internet searches, from its education services. According to its filing with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), EFF said the discovery happened while conducting research on its “Spying on Students” campaign.

EFF Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo said, “Minors shouldn’t be tracked or used as guinea pigs, with their data treated as a profit center. If Google wants to use students’ data to ‘improve Google products,’ then it needs to get express consent from parents.”

EFF said that Google’s actions violated Section 5 of the Federal Communications Act.

Google has issued a statement about the complaint, PC World said. It read, “Our services enable students everywhere to learn and keep their information private and secure. While we appreciate EFF’s focus on student privacy, we are confident that these tools comply with both the law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge.”