Google’s use of pupil information may successfully ban Chromebooks from Denmark faculties

Danish privateness regulator Datatilsysnet has dominated that cities in Denmark want significantly extra assurances about privateness to make use of Google service which will expose youngsters’s information, studies BleepingComputer. The company discovered (translated) that Google makes use of pupil information from Chromebooks and Google Office for Training “for its personal functions,” which isn’t allowed below European privateness legislation.

Municipalities might want to clarify by March 1st how they plan to adjust to the order to cease transferring information to Google, and gained’t have the ability to take action in any respect beginning August 1st, which may imply phasing out Chromebooks solely.

The regulator dominated that municipalities aren’t allowed to ship Google information except the legal guidelines change or Google gives a solution to filter college students’ data out. Google utilizing it for functions like efficiency analytics or characteristic improvement is an issue below their interpretations, even when it doesn’t embody focused promoting. As an example, it’s straightforward to see how regulators may take subject with pupil information getting used to develop and enhance AI options, that are more and more a part of Google Workspace and Chromebooks.

Datatilsysnet says that cities hadn’t really carried out a radical sufficient job of vetting the danger of utilizing Google Office for Training earlier than they permitted their use by native faculties. In 2022, it required 53 municipalities to re-do their assessments as a situation for rescinding a earlier data-sharing ban for town of Helsingør. As a part of the method, they wanted to get data on how Google used the coed data it collected and the place it despatched that information, resulting in the brand new order.