By Charles Sosnik
Do you remember when Sergey Brin and Larry Page took Google public in 2004? At the time I thought the IPO price of $85 per share looked steep. In hindsight, the real mistake was not buying more—Google has grown far beyond a search engine. What began as a clever way to rank pages has become a global powerhouse that expanded through more than 200 acquisitions including YouTube, Android and Motorola Mobility. By 2019, that company had become one of the world’s most valuable corporations with a market capitalization measured in the hundreds of billions and nearly 100,000 employees. It evolved from providing search to dominating the digital landscape, and now the privacy of our children is part of that calculus.
Data: The New Oil
The phrase “data is the new oil,” coined by data scientist Clive Humby in 2006 and popularized in subsequent coverage, captures a key truth of our era: data fuels digital business models. The more a company collects about individuals, the better it can target offerings and monetize engagement. That in turn drives more data collection, often shared across partners and platforms.
Many people shrug and say they have nothing to hide. But there’s a big difference between adults choosing what personal data to share and companies collecting vast amounts of information about children through school systems, devices and apps. When big tech enters education, the stakes for privacy rise considerably.
The Cost of “Free”
Why do so many of Google’s services appear free? The business model is simple: the product is often the user. Free apps, free email, free storage and free classroom tools attract users and generate rich datasets companies use to refine advertising and services. I once installed a free flashlight app on an Android phone and accepted permissions that granted access to my photos, location and contacts. Initially I hesitated, then quickly rationalized the trade-off. Once data is already being collected, subsequent downloads feel less risky—until you step back and consider the long-term implications.
In the past, the adage was “build a better mousetrap.” In today’s digital economy the approach is often “give away the mousetrap” and monetize the users instead.
Android, Chromebooks and the Play Store
The Google Play Store hosts millions of apps, most of them free. Tens of thousands are labeled as educational. That abundance creates opportunity but also risk: many app makers and services may not fully comply with children’s privacy laws such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Denise Tayloe, CEO of PRIVO, which helps organizations navigate COPPA compliance, observes that many developers claim compliance but lack complete, reliable practices—especially in school contexts. Regulators have taken action in several cases, and state attorneys general have pursued enforcement when student privacy appears compromised.
Parents and schools share responsibility, but both face limitations. Many parents aren’t aware of every app their children download. Schools may manage thousands or millions of digital resources across districts. For example, one district reported thousands of apps for only a few hundred students. In such environments it’s unrealistic to assume every resource has been rigorously vetted for privacy and legal compliance.
If you want a stark reminder of how much data is collected, sign into your account and request the information the company has stored about you—many people are surprised at how detailed the record is.
What Google Says About Children’s Data
Google provides specific policies for accounts set up through Family Link, but those policies make clear the extent of information collected. Google notes it asks for basic personal details during account creation and automatically collects information about service usage. That includes:
- Your child’s apps, browsers and devices — device identifiers, browser settings, operating system, mobile network data, crash reports, IP addresses and timestamps when services contact Google’s servers.
- Your child’s activity — search terms, videos watched, voice and audio data if audio features are used, contacts and communications, synced Chrome browsing history, and telephony logs when calls or messages are exchanged through certain services.
- Your child’s location information — determined by GPS, IP address, sensor data, Wi‑Fi access points, cell towers and Bluetooth devices depending on device and account settings.
- Your child’s voice and audio information — recordings triggered by voice activation or microphone use may be stored to the account when the Voice & Audio Activity setting is enabled.
These details are chilling to many parents. At age 13, children become eligible to manage accounts without parental supervision in many systems, which can remove certain protections. Even when accounts are created through a child supervision tool, data persists and can be used later.
Long-Term Consequences for Students
Marsali Hancock, president of the EP3 Foundation, warns that information collected throughout a child’s educational journey can be used for decades. Data from devices, networks and applications builds a profile that could influence future opportunities. Recruiting companies and other third parties may evaluate candidates based on behavioral signals and patterns derived from historical data, potentially excluding students who experienced academic or personal challenges.
Schools gather extensive personal information at enrollment—household income, health records, language spoken at home, and more. As digital learning replaces many physical artifacts of education, those records grow richer and more vulnerable. Without training and clear policies, educators and administrators may not fully grasp how data is used, its commercial value, or the unintended consequences of algorithmic decision making.
As Hancock puts it, the digital version of the school project that used to hang on the refrigerator may now be part of a dataset with unknown future implications in an era of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Google in the Classroom
Google Classroom has gained rapid adoption in districts across the country; reports indicate a significant majority of U.S. districts use some portion of Google’s education suite. Google’s strategy of offering robust free tools effectively disrupted traditional procurement cycles. IT staff often appreciate the convenience and integration, but the underlying trade-off—students’ data in exchange for free services—deserves careful public consideration.
There is no suggestion that Google’s motives are uniquely malicious. Like any large technology company, it is driven by growth and monetization. But Google is among the most sophisticated data collectors ever created, and that capacity requires thoughtful oversight and strong practices to protect children’s rights and futures.
Protecting Students’ Digital Assets
Ultimately, the key question is how schools, parents, policymakers and technology providers will work together to safeguard children’s digital assets—the artifacts of their learning experiences. That will require training, clear policies, rigorous vetting of educational tools, transparency about data use, and commitments to limit commercial exploitation of student data. Only with coordinated action can we ensure digital learning benefits students without compromising their privacy or future prospects.
About the Author
Charles Sosnik is an education journalist and editor living in Gastonia, North Carolina. He is an education fellow at the EP3 Foundation and a frequent contributor to influential education media including The Learning Counsel, NSBA Journal, EdNews Daily and edCircuit.
This article was reprinted by permission from Grit Daily, a news outlet covering brands, technology, entrepreneurship and life.