Two children sue Google for allegedly collecting students’ biometric data

The lawsuit says the search giant violated privacy laws with its educational tools.

Two children from Illinois are suing Google for allegedly collecting biometric data, including face scans, of millions of students through the search giant’s software tools for classrooms. 

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a federal court in San Jose, California, is seeking class-action status. The children, known only as H.K. and J.C. in the complaint, are suing through their father, Clinton Farwell.

Google is using its services to create face templates and “voiceprints” of children, the complaint says, through a program in which the search giant provides school districts across the country with Chromebooks and free access to G Suite for Education apps. Those apps include student versions of Gmail, Calendar and Google Docs. 

The data collection would likely violate Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, which regulates facial recognition, fingerprinting and other biometric technologies in the state. The practice would also likely run afoul of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, a federal law that requires sites to get parental consent when collecting personal information from users who are under 13 years old.

“Google has complete control over the data collection, use, and retention practices of the ‘G Suite for Education’ service, including the biometric data and other personally identifying information collected through the use of the service, and uses this control not only to secretly and unlawfully monitor and profile children, but to do so without the knowledge or consent of those children’s parents,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint is asking for damages of $1,000 for each member of the class for BIPA violations Google committed “negligently,” or $5,000 each for each violation committed “intentionally or recklessly.”

The lawsuit underscores Google’s dominance in American classrooms, which has only grown in recent weeks. Schools are depending more on the tech giant’s educational tools as physical classes around the nation are cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

As several states enact stay-at-home orders, usage of Google’s tools has skyrocketed. Downloads of Google Classroom, which helps teachers manage classes online, have swelled to 50 million, making it the No. 1 education app on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. On Thursday, Google announced a partnership with California Gov. Gavin Newsom to donate 4,000 Chromebooks to students across the state. 

https://www.cnet.com/news/two-children-sue-google-for-allegedly-collecting-students-biometric-data/