SF710

The legislative bill SF No 710, introduced in the Minnesota Senate, focuses on the privacy of student data at public postsecondary institutions. Key points of the bill include:

1. Privacy of Personal Information: It prohibits educational institutions from designating personal contact information like home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, or identification card photos as publicly accessible "directory information".

2. Consent for Collecting Location Data: Colleges cannot collect data on a student's location without the student’s explicit consent, and they cannot make such consent a condition for enrollment, financial aid, or other basic university services. Students can withdraw their consent at any time.

3. Notification Requirements: Institutions must annually inform students about any contracts with technology providers that involve collecting location data. This notice must be in plain language, specify the data being collected, and clarify the consent process.

4. Contract Transparency: Institutions must publish the full contract with technology providers on their website for the duration of the contract, covering what data is collected and how it is used.

5. Data Control and Security: Technology providers must treat location data they handle as belonging to the institution, not as their own property. They must delete or return all such data when the contract ends, and they are not allowed to sell or use this data for commercial purposes, such as advertising.

6. Security Breach Protocols: In case of a data breach, technology providers must promptly inform the institution about the breach and what data was involved.

Overall, the bill aims to strengthen the control that students and educational institutions have over personal and location data, enhancing privacy protections and setting clear guidelines on the handling and use of such data.