• The COVID-19 epidemic greatly increased the use of education apps in school, which has continued up until today.

Significant examples include a child's:

• Location

• Browsing history

• Device identifiers

• Contact information

• Behavioral data

• According to research conducted by Internet Safety Labs, students' personal information is being shared with third parties.

  • This includes advertisers and others that may profit from that information.

• Apps usually include a "Ask App Not to Track" option in their settings.

• Selecting this, however, only puts in the request for tracking to be ceased.

  • It does not actually shut off the tracking system at all.

  • The only information the app will 100% stop tracking includes 𝘰𝘯𝘦 type of ID- IDFA (Identifiers for Advertisers).

    • The IDFA is just a code that allows apps to recognize who you are across different apps.

• This act says that a company has to have actual knowledge that a child is using their application in order for privacy protections to take place.

• The app industry and others have found major loopholes in the law.

• One loophole includes the ability to claim that they don't know who's using an app, and that their app is marketed toward adults.

  • "'We're really not marketing this coloring app or this math homework assistance app to children. We're marketing it to adults.'" (NPR).

It also requires companies to implement protections in their app and website designs, such as providing privacy by default.

• Free speech advocates, including NetSafe, have sued the state of California over this law.

• They claim that the law is misleading, and is actually meant to expand government power over free speech online under the guise of protecting children.