Balderas said in the lawsuit that Google’s collection and use of data from schoolchildren in his state is in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act, which imposes certain restrictions on the collection and use of personal data associated with children under age 13.
The suit accuses Google of deliberately deceiving school districts and parents with regard to its data policies, as according to the law the company had to post a privacy policy and have parents consent to it, to give parents the option to opt out of having their children's information shared with third parties and review their children’s data.
“Student safety should be the number one priority of any company providing services to our children, particularly in schools,” said Balderas. “Tracking student data without parental consent is not only illegal, it is dangerous; and my office will hold any company accountable who compromises the safety of New Mexican children.”
Balderas accused Google of using its free Chromebook program as a kind of Trojan horse to illegally gather data on students, both in violation of COPPA and more generally in violation of broader privacy protections, both federal and state, for kids of all ages. The data includes the physical locations, web and search histories, YouTube viewing habits, contact lists, passwords, and voice recordings, according to the complaint.
The suit also claims Google had used this data for advertising purposes up until April 2014, and that the company has stored this data in personalized profiles for each student that participates in its G Suite for Education program. Separately, it accuses Google of not properly disclosing this data collection and not giving parents a way to view and limit it.
“These practices do not simply violate federal law, nor do they merely impact children under the age of 13,” the complaint reads. “Covertly monitoring children of all ages, despite unambiguous representations to the contrary, violates longstanding rights rooted in the common law as well as New Mexico’s statutory prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practice.”
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement to The Verge that the information listed in the complaint is “factually wrong.”
“G Suite for Education allows schools to control account access and requires that schools obtain parental consent when necessary. We do not use personal information from users in primary and secondary schools to target ads. School districts can decide how best to use Google for Education in their classrooms and we are committed to partnering with them,” the statement reads.
