WPF Files Comments on Deeply Flawed FERPA Proposal

Educational Privacy and FERPA — The WPF filed detailed comments on the U.S. Department of Education\’s notice of proposed changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. WPF has concerns that the increased sharing of student information that the proposed rule will allow will diminish student privacy in a significant and permanent way. WPF is urging the DOE to amend its proposed rule to establish increased privacy protections for sensitive student information held in databases and elsewhere.

Public Comments: May 2011 – Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA

The WPF filed detailed comments on the U.S. Department of Education’s notice of proposed changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. WPF has concerns that the increased sharing of student information that the proposed rule will allow will diminish student privacy in a significant and permanent way. WPF is urging the DOE to amend its proposed rule to establish increased privacy protections for sensitive student information held in databases and elsewhere.

California Budget Plan Nixes State’s Privacy Office

California privacy — The just-published California budget nixes the California Office of Privacy Protection, the first state-level privacy office in the United States and the source of crucial privacy assistance and information for Californians and California businesses. The World Privacy Forum is urging the Governor to reinstate funding for this critical office for Californians.

Consumer Tips: Is Your iPhone or iPad taking a bite out of your privacy?

If the devices are left with older versions of the iOS4 software, the data stored on the iPhones and iPads will be unencrypted and can include latitude, longitude, when the location was visited, for how long, and the data could have been collected for as long as a year. Up to 2 MG of data can be stored, which can be a lot of location data.