Italian Parents Praise Online Educational Tools but Caution on Student Privacy

June 25, 2014

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Italian Parents Praise Online Educational Tools but Caution on Student Privacy

New study shows most Italian parents see benefit of the Internet in schools, but fear their children?s online activities could be tracked and mis-used

Rome ? June 25, 2014 ? SafeGov.org, in partnership with the Istituto Italiano per la Privacy, today released the results of a survey of Italian parents designed to measure their views on the use of online applications and tools in school and its consequences for student privacy. The survey showed that a majority of Italian parents believe internet use in schools can bring significant benefits for students, and are favourable to using online tools for learning activities to improve academic performance, as long as appropriate controls are in place to protect privacy.
Despite the clear benefits of the Internet in the classroom, the great majority of Italian parents surveyed voiced concerns that their children?s online activities at school could be tracked and profiled for the wrong reasons. Along with the scanning of students? emails, parents disapprove of internet companies monitoring student activity on social networks and video channels, as well as internet-enabled devices such as tablets and laptops, for purposes other than education, such as advertising.
Most parents believe schools bear the responsibility to ensure children?s privacy is protected, and propose schools demand email services to offer guarantees against profiling for advertising purposes.
Key findings:
?   Around 60% of parents believe using internet services at school is valuable in helping children learn foreign languages and acquire skills necessary to compete in the 21st century?s global economy;
?   86% of parents are concerned over companies tracking their children for online advertising, and a wide range of ads are considered potentially harmful;
?   More than half of parents would like schools to develop rules of conduct forbidding the tracking of children?s activities in order to serve advertising;
?   A majority of parents also support the government passing stricter laws giving parents complete control over what information can be collected by internet companies about children while in school;
?   Responsibility for securing students? privacy is placed on the shoulders of the schools by 72% of parents, although 88% state they would also take action themselves.

?I?m pleased to see that Italian parents recognise the benefits internet tools can bring when they are applied to learning activities in school, but equally that they demand schools implement strong privacy protections to guard against the commercialisation of their children,? said SafeGov President Jeff Gould. ?Companies, schools and policymakers should take steps to ensure that students receive special protection when they are using online tools, social networking applications, tablets or other devices in the classroom.?
?I dirigenti scolastici e i docenti dovrebbero diventare sempre pi� consapevoli delle grandi opportunit� offerte alla scuola dalle tecnologie di cloud computing, e al contempo essere in grado di rispettare attentamente la normativa privacy italiana per non mettere a rischio i dati degli studenti. Per questo, il 25 giugno distribuiremo un manuale di IIP sul rispetto della privacy nel cloud computing a scuola, donandolo a docenti e dirigenti scolastici perch� ne facciano tesoro operativamente", said Luca Bolognini, President of Istituto Italiano per la Privacy.
The survey targeted 500 parents of children currently in school, living in Italy and attending Primary School through Upper Secondary School. Respondents were asked to describe their level of awareness and concern over the tracking of children?s activities online, highlighting which aspects of online tracking and monitoring of children are the most and least acceptable to them. This is part of a series of parents surveys conducted in four European countries (Poland, France, Italy and Spain), and in several countries around the world, including Israel, the U.S., Australia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia.

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A copy of the survey can be accessed here: http://www.safegov.org/media/68620/it_safegov___italian_parents_survey___detailed_analysis.pdf.

About SafeGov.org
SafeGov.org is an online forum for IT providers and leading industry experts dedicated to promoting trusted and responsible cloud computing solutions for the public sector. By fostering a more comprehensive understanding of cloud technologies, including their benefits, capabilities and limitations, SafeGov.org works to empower government users to make well-informed procurement choices from the growing universe of marketplace offerings. For more information, please visit www.safegov.org.

About edu.SafeGov.org
SafeGov.org launched the edu.SafeGov.org effort this year to hone its focus on public sector cloud issues as it relates to the education space. edu.SafeGov.org is a forum focused on promoting safe and secure online solutions for educational institutions. The forum aims to engage and educate parents, school officials, and policymakers, on actions they can take to protect children?s privacy and data while they use online services in schools. For more information about edu.SafeGov.org, please visit: http://edu.safegov.org/.

About Istituto Italiano per la Privacy
The Istituto Italiano per la Privacy (IIP) is a research center dedicated to the thematics of cybersecurity and protection of personal data in global ICT society. The Institute involves and is a network for the best Italian specialists in Privacy Law, but also for significant representatives of the public and private spheres, who often deal with personal data and sensitive information on a daily basis. Working as a think tank, the IIP has consolidated itself as a point of reference for Italian ?new law? experts, and for several of the players of high technology content markets.

Uploaded on 25/06/2014