There's a lot of confusion in the air about student data privacy, and some widely quoted words about it from President Obama in his address Tuesday night didn't help (but I suspect his speechwriters were just looking for a spot to put a high-priority topic into "a simple, dramatic message about economic fairness," as the New York Times put it: "No foreign nation, no hacker should be able to … [Read more...] about ‘State of the Union’ & the student part of student privacy protection
legislation
The ‘minimum age’ & other unintended consequences of COPPA
It's tough to be the FTC – or anyone else trying to make rules for user-driven (social) media. It's hard enough to make static rules address fast-changing technology. Then there's the problem of changing understanding of consumers – the intended beneficiaries of the rules and the users of user-driven media – as we all adjust to having the data that represents so much of our everyday lives in a … [Read more...] about The ‘minimum age’ & other unintended consequences of COPPA
State anti-bullying law to be reworked
New Jersey's stepped-up bullying prevention law has been deemed unconstitutional not for its spirit but for its cost. It was the state's Council on Local Mandates that ruled the law – the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights," which "was seen as one of the toughest in the nation" – unconstitutional as an unfunded mandate, the Tri-Boro Patch reports. The legislation's lead sponsor, Assemblywoman Valerie … [Read more...] about State anti-bullying law to be reworked
Teens criminally charged for cyberbullying
Criminal charges for cyberbullying minors has long been possible, but now we have signs of a trend. Example: Two Florida teens, 15 and 16, received felony charges for creating a fake profile and posting "lewd comments and obscene pictures" of a fellow student, a local TV station reported. They were charged with aggravated stalking of a minor under 16. Of course "most of these laws don't use the … [Read more...] about Teens criminally charged for cyberbullying