FTC Kids’ Privacy Rule Update Leaves EdTech, Students in Limbo

The first updates to the Federal Trade Commission’s children’s privacy rules in more than a decade leave students and educators without stronger tools to protect their privacy.

The final rules unveiled Thursday, dropped an earlier proposal the FTC had floated to rein in educational technology providers.

The proposals would have barred ed tech companies from using kids’ data gained in educational settings for commercial purposes. They also would have also allowed ed tech providers to get consent from schools instead of parents in some circumstances, a proposal praised by educators and ed tech companies and criticized by some parent ...