Security News > 2024 > February > Denmark orders schools to stop sending student data to Google
The Danish data protection authority has issued an injunction regarding student data being funneled to Google through the use of Chromebooks and Google Workspace services in the country's schools.
The matter was brought to the agency's attention roughly four years ago by a concerned parent and activist, Jesper Graugaard, who protested how student data is sent to Google without any consideration about the potential for misuse or the impact it could have on those persons in the future.
The agency has now decided that the current methods of transferring personal data to Google do not have a legal basis for all disclosed purposes.
Cease the transfer of personal data to Google for specific purposes or obtain a clear legal basis for such transfers, Analyze and document how personal data is processed before using tools like Google Workspace, and.
The agency clarified that permissible uses of student data include providing the educational services offered by Google Workspace, enhancing the security and reliability of these services, facilitating communication, and fulfilling legal obligations.
Given that restricting sensitive data processing on Google's end will be hard, if not impossible, for municipalities to assure, there may be no practical way to adhere to the new policies without blocking the use of Google Chromebooks and/or Google Workspace.