Greetings from York, Maine!
It's hard to believe we are less than two weeks away from the unofficial end of summer. The return to school is just around the corner, if it hasn't started already.
Children's privacy is always on my mind — I am unashamedly the parent who nixed social media accounts and tried to limit screen time. I say "tried" because virtual school and the pandemic happened. It's even more so on my mind as we register the kids for school and agree to let them use whichever ed tech platform is being used. It's an uncomfortable murky area — how much of their data is being used? How long will the school keep their data? And so on.
Unless you've been living under a rock, or ideally, you've been at a remote getaway with no internet access, children's privacy has been a hot topic the last couple weeks. Apple's announcement that an upcoming iOS update will combat child abuse has caused a firestorm of reaction. It is an honorable intention to protect children from harm, but the main concern revolves around the surveillance technology and how it could be possibly be used. Reaction was so strong it prompted Apple to provide clarification of how the software update actually works. IAPP Associate Editor Ryan Chiavetta has been following the story and has industry reaction. IAPP Managing Director of Europe Paul Jordan also offered some insight on the software, and if you haven't read it yet, you should.
Other children's privacy news includes Google's decision to block ads targeting kids under 18 and a push to increase children's privacy protections, similar to the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office's Age Appropriate Design Code. You can read about those below.
In the meantime, I'm going to finish the registration paperwork and enjoy these last few days with the kids before school starts.
Have a great weekend!