Report: Online Education Services Gathered, Shared Data on Children
2022-06-02
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1A new report suggests many online education systems gathered private information on children as they studied at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2The report was released by the international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW).
3The organization says it examined 164 education technology, or EdTech, products used in 49 countries.
4Of the 164 EdTech systems studied, HRW said 89 percent appeared to be involved in activities that "risked or infringed on children's rights."
5Such products had the ability to follow children's online activities, in most cases secretly, "and without the consent of children or their parents," HRW's report found.
6Data collected included the identities of children and their families and where they performed their school work.
7Other information collected included who their friends were and what technology devices they used.
8HRW said most of the online learning products it examined either sent or provided access to advertising technology companies.
9"In doing so, some EdTech products targeted children with behavioral advertising," the report said.
10This kind of advertising can target individuals with personalized content and advertisements that follow them across the internet.
11HRW said that with the exception of Morocco, all governments studied in the report "endorsed" at least one EdTech product "that risked or undermined children's rights."
12The group said its investigators began examining the educational products in 2021.
13At the time, schoolchildren across the world were using EdTech products at home because pandemic-related restrictions prevented in-classroom learning.
14The report states that data gathering "took place in virtual classrooms and educational settings where children could not reasonably object" to the collection methods.
15The report noted that it was "not possible" for HRW to reach a "definitive" judgement about the companies' aims in the data collection effort.
16The investigators said their reporting was based only "on what it observed in the data and the companies' and governments' own statements."
17Human Rights Watch said it shared its findings with EdTech companies, advertising companies and governments covered in the report.
18It said several technology companies denied collecting data from children, while others said their products were not designed for children's use.
19Some advertising businesses denied knowledge that data on children was being sent to them.
20Some EdTech companies also questioned HRW's research methods.
21ST Math is an American-based online learning system.
22It said in an explanation of its privacy policies that HRW examined the wrong website for its report.
23ST Math said its main website that HRW looked at is designed for marketing purposes.
24It noted that investigators should have examined its other web-based system, which is designed for students and teachers.
25The company said that system does not have tools to collect data and follow user activity.
26Reporters from major media organizations in 16 countries assisted in the investigation.
27In its reporting, The Washington Post said some user data from online learners was shared with major advertising-based companies including Facebook and Google.
28A Google spokesperson told the Post the company is investigating the report's claims.
29The company said it is prepared to take action if it finds any of Google's data privacy rules were violated.
30A spokesman for Facebook's parent company, Meta, told the newspaper it restricts how businesses share children's data and also limits how advertisers can target children and teens.
31HRW's report calls on governments to "pass and enforce modern child data protection laws that provide safeguards around the collection, processing and use of children's data."
32It also urges companies to stop these collection methods.
33Albert Fox Cahn directs the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
34He reacted to the report on Twitter.
35"We already knew technologies were being abused and putting kids at risk," he tweeted.
36"But this report is important because it shows the scale of harm and how the same mistake is being made by educators and governments around the world."
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A new report suggests many online education systems gathered private information on children as they studied at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2The report was released by the international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW). The organization says it examined 164 education technology, or EdTech, products used in 49 countries. 3Of the 164 EdTech systems studied, HRW said 89 percent appeared to be involved in activities that "risked or infringed on children's rights." 4Such products had the ability to follow children's online activities, in most cases secretly, "and without the consent of children or their parents," HRW's report found. 5Data collected included the identities of children and their families and where they performed their school work. Other information collected included who their friends were and what technology devices they used. 6HRW said most of the online learning products it examined either sent or provided access to advertising technology companies. 7"In doing so, some EdTech products targeted children with behavioral advertising," the report said. This kind of advertising can target individuals with personalized content and advertisements that follow them across the internet. 8HRW said that with the exception of Morocco, all governments studied in the report "endorsed" at least one EdTech product "that risked or undermined children's rights." 9The group said its investigators began examining the educational products in 2021. At the time, schoolchildren across the world were using EdTech products at home because pandemic-related restrictions prevented in-classroom learning. 10The report states that data gathering "took place in virtual classrooms and educational settings where children could not reasonably object" to the collection methods. 11The report noted that it was "not possible" for HRW to reach a "definitive" judgement about the companies' aims in the data collection effort. The investigators said their reporting was based only "on what it observed in the data and the companies' and governments' own statements." 12Human Rights Watch said it shared its findings with EdTech companies, advertising companies and governments covered in the report. It said several technology companies denied collecting data from children, while others said their products were not designed for children's use. Some advertising businesses denied knowledge that data on children was being sent to them. 13Some EdTech companies also questioned HRW's research methods. ST Math is an American-based online learning system. It said in an explanation of its privacy policies that HRW examined the wrong website for its report. 14ST Math said its main website that HRW looked at is designed for marketing purposes. It noted that investigators should have examined its other web-based system, which is designed for students and teachers. The company said that system does not have tools to collect data and follow user activity. 15Reporters from major media organizations in 16 countries assisted in the investigation. In its reporting, The Washington Post said some user data from online learners was shared with major advertising-based companies including Facebook and Google. 16A Google spokesperson told the Post the company is investigating the report's claims. The company said it is prepared to take action if it finds any of Google's data privacy rules were violated. A spokesman for Facebook's parent company, Meta, told the newspaper it restricts how businesses share children's data and also limits how advertisers can target children and teens. 17HRW's report calls on governments to "pass and enforce modern child data protection laws that provide safeguards around the collection, processing and use of children's data." It also urges companies to stop these collection methods. 18Albert Fox Cahn directs the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. He reacted to the report on Twitter. "We already knew technologies were being abused and putting kids at risk," he tweeted. "But this report is important because it shows the scale of harm and how the same mistake is being made by educators and governments around the world." 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English based on a report from Human Rights Watch. 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 22_____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24infringe - v. to limit someone's rights of freedoms 25consent - n. permission for someone to do something 26access - n. the right or chance to use or look at something 27endorse - v. to declare publicly that you support a person or action 28undermine - v. to make someone less confident or make something weaker 29virtual - adj. used to describe something that can be done or seen using computers or the internet instead of happening in a physical place 30definitive - adj. clear, sure and not likely to change 31scale - n. the size or level of something