It turned out that 89% of remote learning apps and sites were collecting student data, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's ``Z-kai'' etc.
Children took classes using learning apps and websites as schools were closed in many countries due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection. Human Rights Watch, a human rights organization, reported that 89% of such distance learning apps were prevalent in practices that endangered children's personal information.
“How Dare They Peep into My Private Life?”: Children's Rights Violations by Governments that Endorsed Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic | HRW
Human Rights Watch analyzed education plans for the COVID-19 pandemic in the 68 most populous countries in the world. As a result, we found that 164 educational technology ( EdTech ) products are used in 49 countries including Japan. Human Rights Watch analyzed these apps and web services and found that 146, or 89% of the 164 EdTech products, endanger or contribute to rights violations of children. , or that it has been found to handle data in such a way that it actively infringes rights.
The main privacy violations that Human Rights Watch is concerned with include:
◆ Advertising identifier
Of the 73 apps analyzed, 41 apps, or 56%, used Google's tracking technology Android Advertising ID (AAID). Among them were Cisco Webex used in Australia, Japan, Poland, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, and schoolTakt and Study Sapuri in Japan.
``Collecting AAID from children is neither necessary nor appropriate for the purpose of providing education, and risks exposing children to rights violations,'' Human Rights Watch denounced. increase.
◆ Device or Wi-Fi monitoring
Among the EdTech applications, there were 14 that accessed
◆Fingerprint
Fingerprinting is a method of collecting information such as the terminal and browser used by the user and tracking the user without relying on cookies. Of the 125 websites Human Rights Watch analyzed, eight had this fingerprint collected, including Japan's Z-kai .
In particular, Z-kai, which is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as learning support content for elementary, junior high and high school students, collects fingerprints by embedding the following images in the browser and allows children to view advertisements that advertisers want. It was used for the purpose of
2022 Hye Jung Han/Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch also criticized the fingerprinting as unnecessary and inappropriate for educational purposes and infringing on children's privacy rights.
◆Ad Tracker
The ad tracker technology found by Human Rights Watch uses JavaScript,
Human Rights Watch found that 113, or 90%, of the 125 sites analyzed had third-party ad trackers that collect information about the devices and browsers used by children. For example, 54 ad trackers were embedded on the Z-kai site and sent data to 37 advertising companies. The Z-kai site, which had the most ad trackers installed among the sites analyzed by Human Rights Watch, also detected 76 cookies.
Of the 125 EdTech sites surveyed, 13 sites, including NHK for School , did not collect children's personal information, which was only 10%.
◆Facebook Pixel
A Facebook Pixel is an ad tag placed on a site to measure the effectiveness of Facebook ads. Human Rights Watch found 31 sites using the Facebook Pixel, 27 of which were aimed at children. Among them were the Japanese sites of Study Sapuri, Z-kai, eboard , and the Asahi Shimbun, three of which were aimed at children.
◆EdTech products made by the government
According to Human Rights Watch, of the 42 countries that introduced online education during the pandemic, 65 EdTech products involving governments in 39 countries sent children's data to advertising companies. In addition, it seems that the EdTech product involving the governments of 22 countries did not even have a privacy policy.
NHK for School was one of nine EdTech products for which no tracking technology was found. Human Rights Watch said, 'Though they are few in number, these nine products are 'governments to build and provide data- and privacy-friendly digital education services to children, protect children's rights,' It shows that we can keep our obligations to promote.”
Human Rights Watch also summed up the survey as a whole: 'In the rush to connect children to virtual classrooms, few governments have checked whether EdTech is safe for children. As a result, many children who were forced to learn online during school closures were exposed to EdTech's invasion of privacy.'
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