Google, Khan Academy join in student privacy pledge

Fifteen more companies, including Google and the Khan Academy, have signed on to a pledge to protect student privacy.

The pledge was highlighted in a speech by President Barack Obama, in which he also said he will introduce legislation to protect data collected in the classroom. The two companies, both major players in education technology, are among second wave of 15 that signed on to the pledge on Jan 19; 75 signed the agreement earlier. The document holds companies to several data privacy tenets, including promises not to sell student information or to use behaviorally targeted advertising on education products. It also promises to make it easy for parents to see their students' data and to be transparent about how those data are collected and used.