Microsoft Moves to Safeguard Children as New AI Privacy Rules Bar Student Tracking in Schools
Microsoft and the country’s biggest teachers unions have unveiled a new deal to enhance privacy and safeguard children in the era of growing AI use in schools.
The agreement, announced Wednesday by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and Microsoft, will include a National AI Safety & Privacy Standard with 10 legally binding protections for students, teachers and schools.
As part of the deal, Microsoft will not use student or teacher data for training or enhancing its artificial intelligence models, unless in rare cases of safety and security. The company will also not be allowed to monitor students using its AI tools.
The standard calls for Microsoft to provide educators and parents with more transparency regarding the functioning of its AI systems, the data it gathers, and the measures implemented to ensure user privacy and security.
The AFT will be able to sue school districts if Microsoft violates the agreement, and the protections will be incorporated into the contract.
The shift follows growing worries over children’s privacy, safety, and the application of AI in education among schools and policymakers. New York City officials recently announced a one-year ban on student-facing generative AI for younger students and AI literacy lessons for older students.
Microsoft will roll out the protections to school districts in the U.S. from Nov. 1. The AFT is also in talks with OpenAI and Anthropic about similar protections.
