Last year, Microsoft joined dozens of other companies in signing a student privacy pledge. In 2015, this pledge may serve as a model for state legislation. In 2014, several states already took up this issue and enacted laws to ensure student digital privacy.
Students and their families have a right to privacy—and school districts and technology providers should support and protect these rights. To be sure, student data can be used beneficially to improve education and outcomes, but privacy should not be sacrificed for these benefits. In addition, private student data should never be misused for the purposes of household profiling, behavioral advertising, or other commercial activities.
Cloud computing services have the potential to transform government and education. To gain broader adoption—and drive further investment and innovation—these services must support privacy and earn the trust of citizens and government alike. Establishing a legal baseline of reasonable privacy rules will help foster trust and technology adoption.
As states take up this issue, we’ll provide further details and encourage you to share your views.
