Big Tech data-privacy damage engulfs U.S. public school students
TGIF… and why are short weeks always so long? 🙃
As U.S. regulators at the FTC and Justice Department and Federal and state lawmakers deliberate, Americans’ personal data continues to be acquired, brokered, and otherwise misused illicitly.
Increasing new evidence shows the problem isn’t confined to data from adults.
Yesterday, New Mexico sued Google, citing evidence that the company “deliberately deceives parents and teachers” and actively “spies on New Mexico children and their families by collecting troves of personal information at school and at home,” including:
This on the heels of a victory for Maryland public school parents in December: Tech companies now have to purge data they’ve collected on students once a year.
And six months ago, the FTC and New York state fined Google $170 million (yes, chump change for them) because the company illegally harvested children’s personal data on YouTube.
Alarms about the theft and abuse of children’s data were initially sounded a year ago by England’s Child Commissioner.
Yesterday’s lawsuit is particularly damning because Google is now the #1 technology provider to public schools: More than half of America’s public schools — plus 90 million students and teachers globally — use “free” Google Education tools including Gmail and Google Docs.
The revelations also force the assumption that broader abuses also aim at or sweep up children as well. And those abuses continue to pile up:
Two well-liked Twitter employees were charged with accessing thousands of users’ private information and illegally passing it to the Saudi Royal Family
Big Tech is bullying lawmakers to get unfettered access to your medical records
Cash is on its way out — and it’s taking privacy with it
It’s now comically difficult to protect your privacy with in-home devices
Further, no current data-privacy legislation creates harsher penalties for companies abusing children. The following chart — created by a group funded by the same U.S. corporations and their “charitable” foundations being criticized for lax data protections — compares the EU’s GDRP to current U.S. privacy efforts:
Calls for change get louder
As GDPR demonstrates, the trend in Europe is a bit more positive, but so far only that single regulation has proved strong enough to cross the pond. Meanwhile, calls for specific change continue to come from both sides of the Atlantic, and legal precedents are starting to be set:
In a new policy paper, a pair of legal experts are calling on Congress to intervene to make it easier for consumers to exclude themselves from terms of service changes in healthcare apps without opting out of using products completely
The head of Ireland’s Data Protection Commission signaled “blockbuster data fines” are on the way for technology multinationals
The European Commission promised a data-specific add-on to broad technology rules issued this week
A Dutch court ruled that a surveillance system violates human rights
In the meantime, your kids’ information continues to be harvested, brokered and sold. And Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, et al continue to work to lure children as young as toddlers onto their tracking systems.
TODAY IN…
DEEP TECH:
HP just swallowed a poison pill… and Dell sold the once-ubiquitous RSA Security for $2 billion (on the eve of the RSA Security Conference)
Microsoft’s CEO held court on what Big Tech must do to regain trust, and specifically called out AI algorithm bias:
MEDIA & TELECOM:
Mike Bloomberg’s campaign launched a massive influencer marketing effort, and seems to be ignoring all the FTC regulations around such activity
Who thought it was a good idea to wave a red flag in front of the regulatory bulls by naming this conference “Masters of Data and Technology”?
HEALTHCARE TECH:
A three-year AMA study shows weak demand for healthcare technology in physicians’ actual practices (and survey participants were supplied by WebMD) … See also: Providers don’t see patient value for digital tools — just four in 10 say technology is being successfully integrated into overall patient experience, and when it is, it's mostly basic functions
More than 41 million patient records were breached in 2019; hacks jumped 49%
Here’s a dilemma: “Transformation in healthcare is an imperative; we just aren't sure what we want to become”
FINANCE:
Morgan Stanley is renewing it diversification strategy — with a $13 billion ETrade acquisition … See also: How Morgan Stanley Got Its Mojo Back … And: Will Morgan Stanley’s ETrade deal herald more banking takeovers?
Nearly one in four European companies targeted by activists ultimately got acquired
The Journal of the American Medical Association ran the numbers: 355 private physicians practices were acquired by private equity in just three years … See also: The most important video you’ll see today
PUBLIC POLICY:
Yes, artificial intelligence will impact the risk of “digital redlining”
States are building momentum to stop Amazon HQ2-like tax bidding wars
And finally, ICYMI…
… It’s likely a number of those 26 people live on this list. Interesting to note two things: First, despite the presence of the Bezos and Gates fortunes, Washington state doesn’t make the cut … And second, the only reason Greenwich doesn’t top this list is they’ve broken the town up into neighborhoods — apparently super-rich Californians are still small enough to lobby media outlets for such things …