Assessing the privacy of digital products in Australian schools: Protecting the digital rights of children and young people

Abstract

The increasing reliance in schools on educational technology (edtech) poses a threat to children's digital privacy, particularly where children's data is used for or shared with others for commercial purposes. However, assessing the privacy of digital products is challenging given the opaque and evolving nature of the digital economy. Many schools share the responsibility for assessing edtech with education departments and authorities; however, to date, there has been very little empirical or theoretical work on how schools, education departments and authorities evaluate the privacy risks and data practices associated with the digital products used in schools. Drawing on an analysis of the Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S) framework developed by Education Services Australia, education department policies, as well as interviews with education department staff and representatives, we examine how the data practices of digital products are examined in government schools in Australia and how schools are supported to choose tools that demonstrate best practice in terms of protecting students’ digital privacy. Findings suggest that while the goal of the ST4S framework is to streamline and unify digital privacy standards across states and territories, the complexity of the Australian education system, the number and diversity of digital products used, and the different governance approaches across the country make this difficult. Our conclusions reveal a compliance culture towards children's digital privacy, rather than a best practice approach, and a trust (or even ‘overtrust’) in ‘big tech’. However, we note some promising developments in this area and make recommendations for future research.