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IRAN:
Will Iran’s Looming Election Provide a Glimpse Into the Islamic Republic’s Future?
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/8...z4bPEKmd.97”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: TouTube Screenshot)
Iran is scheduled to hold its next presidential election May 19 with incumbent President Hassan Rouhani seeking a second four-year term.
Though he handily won the presidency in a landslide in 2013 and forged Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, Rouhani faces stiff challenges from several other candidates this time around, including hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, a judge and cleric who is close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and rumored to be his successor.
As he registered for the election last week, Rouhani told reporters, “Once again, I am here for Iran, for Islam, for freedom and for more stability in this country.”
While his main challenger Raisi enjoys support within Iran’s theocratic and hardline establishment, he lacks the popular political support that Rouhani and his technocrat-reformist coalition have built during the last four years, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior Iran analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.
“The regime does desire an increase in Raisi’s public stature and thus may be implicitly supportive of his candidacy, but if Raisi loses the presidency, then his chances of being supreme leader would face a commensurate decrease,” Ben Taleblu told JNS.org.
“Should the regime deviate from the previously established trend of furnishing almost all incumbents with a second term, it would likely have to decidedly rig the election in Raisi’s favor,” he added.
Nevertheless, many Iranians have become dismayed with Rouhani, who had promised to end Iran’s isolation and create a freer society, as the country’s economy failed to grow despite the lifting of economic sanctions in the aftermath of the nuclear deal in 2015.
==========
FRANCE:
A Guide to the Presidential Elections
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/1...tial-elections
Voters in France will go to the polls on April 23 to choose the country's next president in a two-step process. The top two winners in the first round will compete in a run-off on May 7.
The election is being closely followed in France and elsewhere as an indicator of popular discontent with mainstream parties and the European Union, as well as with multiculturalism and continued mass migration from the Muslim world.
If the election were held today, independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, who has never held elected office, would become the next president of France, according to most opinion polls.
An Ifop-Fiducial poll released on April 21 showed that Macron would win the first round with 24.5% of the votes, followed by Marine Le Pen, the leader of the anti-establishment National Front party, with 22.5%. Conservative François Fillon is third (19.5%), followed by Leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon (18.5%) and radical Socialist Benoît Hamon (7%).
If the poll numbers are accurate, the two established parties, the Socialist Party and the center-right Republicans, would, for the first time, be eliminated in the first round.
In the second round, Macron, a pro-EU, pro-Islam globalist, would defeat Le Pen, an anti-EU, anti-Islam French nationalist, by a wide margin (61% to 39%), according to the poll.
Nevertheless, most polls show that the race is tightening, and that two candidates who up until recently were considered also-rans — Fillon, who has been mired in a corruption scandal, and Mélenchon, who has performed well in recent presidential debates — are narrowing the lead that Macron and Le Pen have over them.
==========
THE UK:
Survey: 1 In 5 Adults In The UK Can’t Change A Lightbulb, Boil An Egg
https://www.studyfinds.org/change-li...-chores-study/
Are you handy enough that if a lightbulb went out in your home you’d be able to change it? Believe it or not, one in five people aren’t so skilled. In fact, a new survey of people in the United Kingdom finds not only do about 20 percent of people not know how to change a bulb — the same number aren’t sure how to boil an egg, either.
The British insurance company Aviva recently released their annual Home Report which detailed, among numerous findings about how people do work around the house, relatively common tasks that people encounter. The company surveyed 2004 people across the UK in February and March about their habits and roles at home.
In addition to just one in five not being able to change a lightbulb or boil an egg, the survey found that nearly a third of the participants couldn’t cook any meal on the fly. And if someone were to spill a portion of their meal on their clothes or on the floor, only 59 percent would know how to get rid of the resulting stain.
Only 37 percent could change a flat tire.
The findings were even surprising to the folks behind the study.
“As a nation we tend to take pride in our ability to do things ourselves in and around the home, so it’s a surprise to see there could be a skills gap in places,” says Aviva Propositions Director Adam Beckett in a press release. “That said, we also know that people lead busy lives, so while we enjoy doing things ourselves, we also appreciate the opportunity to leave things to a professional from time to time, particularly with some of the more challenging jobs.”
Interestingly, while 50 percent of those surveyed said they learned how to do a home task on their own by trial and error, plenty of people are turning to the internet for help, especially millennials. The study found four in 10 people aged 25 and under prefer learning do-it-yourself chores online. That’s more than twice the number in the age group who turn to an actual book for help.
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THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY, SATURDAY, APRIL 21st…
SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa on its knees: over a million people are descending on Bloemfontein for massive prayer gathering
https://www.goodthingsguy.com/busine...yer-gathering/
PHOTO CRED: ANGUS BUCHAN FACEBOOK PAGE
Over 1.7 million South Africans have started descending on Bloemfontein for the massive prayer gathering taking place this weekend.
In the biggest recorded prayer gathering in Africa, with over 1,7 million tickets given away already, South Africans are taking to their knees this weekend to pray for our country. Apparently, the tickets were only to allocate parking, which means that there may very well be over 3 million people attending.
Concerned citizens of all races, colors, cultures and religious denominations have already started descending on the free event near Bloemfontein.
“After 22 April, South Africa will be a changed country,” says Angus Buchan.
He is referring to the “It’s time” gathering that will take place on a farm 4 km outside Bloemfontein and is expected to draw a crowd of over a million South Africans.
All indications are that this will be the largest day of prayer in the history of South Africa.
“The day of prayer is intended for all South Africans of all genders, races and denominations who are concerned about the malice, hatred, violence, murder and corruption in the country,” says Buchan.
He says it is time to stop pointing fingers, disparaging and insulting, and to acknowledge that we are all to blame in some or other way and should embrace one another in Christ.
“It’s time to suit the action to the word. We declare war on the disregard for human life and unkindness. On 22 April, we will be drawing a line in the sand.”
The seed for the gathering was planted when a WhatsApp video did the rounds with a desperate outcry for Buchan or any other spiritual leader in South Africa to intervene and arrange such an event. When Buchan replied by posting a video on social media, he received 1,8 million responses within hours.
Meanwhile, preparations on the farm outside Bloemfontein to accommodate a million people are under way.
==========
U.S.A.:
MUSLIM not CHARGED!
Armed Muslim Who Displayed Guns at Dakota Christian Conference Will Not be Charged
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/8...4q5utCbsxDp.97
Muslim South Dakotan Showing Guns (YouTube)
A Muslim man escorted out of a Christian Conference in South Dakota went out to the parking lot and filmed himself on Facebook Live, flashing multiple firearms, telling viewers they should be “terrified”. Police said he would not be arrested since “he wasn’t breaking any laws”.
Ehab Jaber from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, showed up at the Worldview Weekend Christian Conference on April 9, and began filming. 500 people were in attendance. A security representative asked him to stop. Jaber went out to his car where he videoed himself displaying three pistols and two assault-style rifles. Each gun was accompanied by profanity and the threat, “Be terrifed”. Jaber was wearing a t-shirt with the words, “I am a Muslim”, “I open carry”, and “I am only dangerous if you are stupid”.
==========
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SPECIALISTS:
State Dept. Workers Called Religious Freedom Specialists 'Whack Jobs,' Former Official Says
http://www.christianpost.com/news/st...k-jobs-181293/
The issue of religious freedom and even persecuted Christians in the Middle East are held in low regard by employees at the U.S. State Department thanks to a culture of institutional bias that plagues the department, a former agency employee has said.
In Defense of Christians Vice President Andrew Doran (R), flanked by former State Department employee and co-founder of Kids World USA Emilie Kao (L), speaks during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 2017.
Andrew Doran, a former executive secretariat of the U.S. National Commission for the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization at the State Department, participated in a panel discussion Wednesday night with other human rights lawyers at the National Press Club to discuss religious liberty and human rights in the Donald Trump administration.
Doran, who now serves as the vice president and senior policy advisor for the human rights advocacy organization In Defense of Christians, explained that he feels there is not much that the Trump administration can do to improve the depressing status of religious liberty worldwide.
"On the religious freedom front, we are getting our clock cleaned. This may be a brief interregnum here but I think religious freedom is not doing well worldwide," Doran said. "The United States is not leading in religious freedom. It's not doing well domestically. I don't know that any program at State [Department] is going to change this. I mean, this is something that is deeply rooted in the public culture, in academia."
Doran explained that for decades, the foreign policy establishment has viewed institutional Christianity as an "oppressor" class. Doran added that this establishment view has "extended to Middle East Christians, which we see all the time dealing with people in the foreign policy establishment who really hold Middle East Christians in very low regard."
==========
WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT:
The White House reveals what next week’s ‘big announcement’ on taxes will look like
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.beedfcb1544c
Opinion/Images/Health_Overhaul_Tax_Reform_59184-3ac1e.jpg&w=1484[/IMG]
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin listens as President Trump speaks during a budget meeting at the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File.
The White House will release on Wednesday the “broad principles and priorities” of their plans to overhaul federal taxes, a White House official said Friday night, downplaying expectations that the Trump administration would reveal key details underpinning the plan.
President Trump said earlier Friday that he would release new information about his plan to overhaul the tax code on Wednesday, a sign that he is trying to accelerate one of his most ambitious campaign promises even though key specifics remain undetermined.
“We’ll be having a big announcement on Wednesday having to do with tax reform,” Trump said Friday while visiting the Treasury Department. “The process has begun long ago but it really formally begins on Wednesday.”
Addressing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump said, “So, go to it.”
A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post on Friday night that while the president did plan to make an announcement on tax reform next week, it will be broad in nature.
“[W]e will outline our broad principles and priorities,” the official said. "We are moving forward on comprehensive tax reform that cuts tax rates for individuals, simplifies our overly-complicated system and creates jobs by making American businesses competitive.”
Trump’s statement earlier on Friday had caught many congressional aides — and even some administration officials — off guard, as they thought they were working on a slower timetable.
==========
HEROES OF THE FAITH:
'Torchlighters: Heroes of the Faith' Cartoons Prove 21st Century Kids Enjoy Church History.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/to...istory-178950/
In the age of Disney, Pixar and $200 million animated blockbusters, a modest Pennsylvania-based ministry has — somehow — captured the hearts and minds of children with cartoons about church history.
Scene from "Torchlighters.
The non-profit organization, the Christian History Institute, is set to release its 16th animated Torchlighters DVD later this year, more than a decade after its first release, "The Jim Elliot Story," proved that children's stories about heroes of the faith can compete against the likes of Toy Story, Frozen and Finding Dory in home entertainment.
Of course, the Torchlighters aren't as popular in the broader market as well-known films, but with more than 700,000 DVDs sold, the series has found a niche market that anxiously awaits new releases. Each one lasts 30 minutes.
"One huge advantage we have is that these stories are true," Dawn Moore, editorial director of the Christian History Institute, told the Christian Post. "We frequently hear that children are just amazed when they learn that these things actually happened, that they are not fictionalized as most stories now are."
==========
SPYING on CHILDREN:
Report: School-Issued Computers ‘Spy’ on Children Without Parental Consent
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ental-consent/
by DR. SUSAN BERRY17 Apr 2017
A new report finds that, under the guise of “personalized learning,” school-issued computer devices — now distributed to one-third of K-12 students in schools across the United States — are serving to collect and store an unprecedented amount of personal data on children without their parents’ notice or consent.
A newly released investigation by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reveals student use of technology in school has grown at a profound rate, especially with free or low-fee devices issued by schools.
The education technology industry, according to the report, is now valued at over $8 billion.
Approximately half of the devices issued to U.S. children are Google Chromebooks, with about 30 million students, teachers, and school officials using Google’s G Suite for Education, observes EFF.
Student information collected by education technology services through these devices includes not only personally identifying information (PII) – such as name and date of birth – but also browsing history, location information, contact lists, and behavioral data.
Student data is also often automatically uploaded to the cloud – all without the knowledge of parents.
==========
Will Iran’s Looming Election Provide a Glimpse Into the Islamic Republic’s Future?
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/8...z4bPEKmd.97”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: TouTube Screenshot)
Iran is scheduled to hold its next presidential election May 19 with incumbent President Hassan Rouhani seeking a second four-year term.
Though he handily won the presidency in a landslide in 2013 and forged Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, Rouhani faces stiff challenges from several other candidates this time around, including hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, a judge and cleric who is close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and rumored to be his successor.
As he registered for the election last week, Rouhani told reporters, “Once again, I am here for Iran, for Islam, for freedom and for more stability in this country.”
While his main challenger Raisi enjoys support within Iran’s theocratic and hardline establishment, he lacks the popular political support that Rouhani and his technocrat-reformist coalition have built during the last four years, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior Iran analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.
“The regime does desire an increase in Raisi’s public stature and thus may be implicitly supportive of his candidacy, but if Raisi loses the presidency, then his chances of being supreme leader would face a commensurate decrease,” Ben Taleblu told JNS.org.
“Should the regime deviate from the previously established trend of furnishing almost all incumbents with a second term, it would likely have to decidedly rig the election in Raisi’s favor,” he added.
Nevertheless, many Iranians have become dismayed with Rouhani, who had promised to end Iran’s isolation and create a freer society, as the country’s economy failed to grow despite the lifting of economic sanctions in the aftermath of the nuclear deal in 2015.
==========
FRANCE:
A Guide to the Presidential Elections
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/1...tial-elections
Voters in France will go to the polls on April 23 to choose the country's next president in a two-step process. The top two winners in the first round will compete in a run-off on May 7.
The election is being closely followed in France and elsewhere as an indicator of popular discontent with mainstream parties and the European Union, as well as with multiculturalism and continued mass migration from the Muslim world.
If the election were held today, independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, who has never held elected office, would become the next president of France, according to most opinion polls.
An Ifop-Fiducial poll released on April 21 showed that Macron would win the first round with 24.5% of the votes, followed by Marine Le Pen, the leader of the anti-establishment National Front party, with 22.5%. Conservative François Fillon is third (19.5%), followed by Leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon (18.5%) and radical Socialist Benoît Hamon (7%).
If the poll numbers are accurate, the two established parties, the Socialist Party and the center-right Republicans, would, for the first time, be eliminated in the first round.
In the second round, Macron, a pro-EU, pro-Islam globalist, would defeat Le Pen, an anti-EU, anti-Islam French nationalist, by a wide margin (61% to 39%), according to the poll.
Nevertheless, most polls show that the race is tightening, and that two candidates who up until recently were considered also-rans — Fillon, who has been mired in a corruption scandal, and Mélenchon, who has performed well in recent presidential debates — are narrowing the lead that Macron and Le Pen have over them.
==========
THE UK:
Survey: 1 In 5 Adults In The UK Can’t Change A Lightbulb, Boil An Egg
https://www.studyfinds.org/change-li...-chores-study/
Are you handy enough that if a lightbulb went out in your home you’d be able to change it? Believe it or not, one in five people aren’t so skilled. In fact, a new survey of people in the United Kingdom finds not only do about 20 percent of people not know how to change a bulb — the same number aren’t sure how to boil an egg, either.
The British insurance company Aviva recently released their annual Home Report which detailed, among numerous findings about how people do work around the house, relatively common tasks that people encounter. The company surveyed 2004 people across the UK in February and March about their habits and roles at home.
In addition to just one in five not being able to change a lightbulb or boil an egg, the survey found that nearly a third of the participants couldn’t cook any meal on the fly. And if someone were to spill a portion of their meal on their clothes or on the floor, only 59 percent would know how to get rid of the resulting stain.
Only 37 percent could change a flat tire.
The findings were even surprising to the folks behind the study.
“As a nation we tend to take pride in our ability to do things ourselves in and around the home, so it’s a surprise to see there could be a skills gap in places,” says Aviva Propositions Director Adam Beckett in a press release. “That said, we also know that people lead busy lives, so while we enjoy doing things ourselves, we also appreciate the opportunity to leave things to a professional from time to time, particularly with some of the more challenging jobs.”
Interestingly, while 50 percent of those surveyed said they learned how to do a home task on their own by trial and error, plenty of people are turning to the internet for help, especially millennials. The study found four in 10 people aged 25 and under prefer learning do-it-yourself chores online. That’s more than twice the number in the age group who turn to an actual book for help.
==========
THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY, SATURDAY, APRIL 21st…
SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa on its knees: over a million people are descending on Bloemfontein for massive prayer gathering
https://www.goodthingsguy.com/busine...yer-gathering/
PHOTO CRED: ANGUS BUCHAN FACEBOOK PAGE
Over 1.7 million South Africans have started descending on Bloemfontein for the massive prayer gathering taking place this weekend.
In the biggest recorded prayer gathering in Africa, with over 1,7 million tickets given away already, South Africans are taking to their knees this weekend to pray for our country. Apparently, the tickets were only to allocate parking, which means that there may very well be over 3 million people attending.
Concerned citizens of all races, colors, cultures and religious denominations have already started descending on the free event near Bloemfontein.
“After 22 April, South Africa will be a changed country,” says Angus Buchan.
He is referring to the “It’s time” gathering that will take place on a farm 4 km outside Bloemfontein and is expected to draw a crowd of over a million South Africans.
All indications are that this will be the largest day of prayer in the history of South Africa.
“The day of prayer is intended for all South Africans of all genders, races and denominations who are concerned about the malice, hatred, violence, murder and corruption in the country,” says Buchan.
He says it is time to stop pointing fingers, disparaging and insulting, and to acknowledge that we are all to blame in some or other way and should embrace one another in Christ.
“It’s time to suit the action to the word. We declare war on the disregard for human life and unkindness. On 22 April, we will be drawing a line in the sand.”
The seed for the gathering was planted when a WhatsApp video did the rounds with a desperate outcry for Buchan or any other spiritual leader in South Africa to intervene and arrange such an event. When Buchan replied by posting a video on social media, he received 1,8 million responses within hours.
Meanwhile, preparations on the farm outside Bloemfontein to accommodate a million people are under way.
==========
U.S.A.:
MUSLIM not CHARGED!
Armed Muslim Who Displayed Guns at Dakota Christian Conference Will Not be Charged
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/8...4q5utCbsxDp.97
Muslim South Dakotan Showing Guns (YouTube)
A Muslim man escorted out of a Christian Conference in South Dakota went out to the parking lot and filmed himself on Facebook Live, flashing multiple firearms, telling viewers they should be “terrified”. Police said he would not be arrested since “he wasn’t breaking any laws”.
Ehab Jaber from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, showed up at the Worldview Weekend Christian Conference on April 9, and began filming. 500 people were in attendance. A security representative asked him to stop. Jaber went out to his car where he videoed himself displaying three pistols and two assault-style rifles. Each gun was accompanied by profanity and the threat, “Be terrifed”. Jaber was wearing a t-shirt with the words, “I am a Muslim”, “I open carry”, and “I am only dangerous if you are stupid”.
==========
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SPECIALISTS:
State Dept. Workers Called Religious Freedom Specialists 'Whack Jobs,' Former Official Says
http://www.christianpost.com/news/st...k-jobs-181293/
The issue of religious freedom and even persecuted Christians in the Middle East are held in low regard by employees at the U.S. State Department thanks to a culture of institutional bias that plagues the department, a former agency employee has said.
In Defense of Christians Vice President Andrew Doran (R), flanked by former State Department employee and co-founder of Kids World USA Emilie Kao (L), speaks during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 2017.
Andrew Doran, a former executive secretariat of the U.S. National Commission for the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization at the State Department, participated in a panel discussion Wednesday night with other human rights lawyers at the National Press Club to discuss religious liberty and human rights in the Donald Trump administration.
Doran, who now serves as the vice president and senior policy advisor for the human rights advocacy organization In Defense of Christians, explained that he feels there is not much that the Trump administration can do to improve the depressing status of religious liberty worldwide.
"On the religious freedom front, we are getting our clock cleaned. This may be a brief interregnum here but I think religious freedom is not doing well worldwide," Doran said. "The United States is not leading in religious freedom. It's not doing well domestically. I don't know that any program at State [Department] is going to change this. I mean, this is something that is deeply rooted in the public culture, in academia."
Doran explained that for decades, the foreign policy establishment has viewed institutional Christianity as an "oppressor" class. Doran added that this establishment view has "extended to Middle East Christians, which we see all the time dealing with people in the foreign policy establishment who really hold Middle East Christians in very low regard."
==========
WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT:
The White House reveals what next week’s ‘big announcement’ on taxes will look like
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.beedfcb1544c
Opinion/Images/Health_Overhaul_Tax_Reform_59184-3ac1e.jpg&w=1484[/IMG]Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin listens as President Trump speaks during a budget meeting at the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File.
The White House will release on Wednesday the “broad principles and priorities” of their plans to overhaul federal taxes, a White House official said Friday night, downplaying expectations that the Trump administration would reveal key details underpinning the plan.
President Trump said earlier Friday that he would release new information about his plan to overhaul the tax code on Wednesday, a sign that he is trying to accelerate one of his most ambitious campaign promises even though key specifics remain undetermined.
“We’ll be having a big announcement on Wednesday having to do with tax reform,” Trump said Friday while visiting the Treasury Department. “The process has begun long ago but it really formally begins on Wednesday.”
Addressing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trump said, “So, go to it.”
A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post on Friday night that while the president did plan to make an announcement on tax reform next week, it will be broad in nature.
“[W]e will outline our broad principles and priorities,” the official said. "We are moving forward on comprehensive tax reform that cuts tax rates for individuals, simplifies our overly-complicated system and creates jobs by making American businesses competitive.”
Trump’s statement earlier on Friday had caught many congressional aides — and even some administration officials — off guard, as they thought they were working on a slower timetable.
==========
HEROES OF THE FAITH:
'Torchlighters: Heroes of the Faith' Cartoons Prove 21st Century Kids Enjoy Church History.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/to...istory-178950/
In the age of Disney, Pixar and $200 million animated blockbusters, a modest Pennsylvania-based ministry has — somehow — captured the hearts and minds of children with cartoons about church history.
Scene from "Torchlighters.
The non-profit organization, the Christian History Institute, is set to release its 16th animated Torchlighters DVD later this year, more than a decade after its first release, "The Jim Elliot Story," proved that children's stories about heroes of the faith can compete against the likes of Toy Story, Frozen and Finding Dory in home entertainment.
Of course, the Torchlighters aren't as popular in the broader market as well-known films, but with more than 700,000 DVDs sold, the series has found a niche market that anxiously awaits new releases. Each one lasts 30 minutes.
"One huge advantage we have is that these stories are true," Dawn Moore, editorial director of the Christian History Institute, told the Christian Post. "We frequently hear that children are just amazed when they learn that these things actually happened, that they are not fictionalized as most stories now are."
==========
SPYING on CHILDREN:
Report: School-Issued Computers ‘Spy’ on Children Without Parental Consent
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ental-consent/
by DR. SUSAN BERRY17 Apr 2017
A new report finds that, under the guise of “personalized learning,” school-issued computer devices — now distributed to one-third of K-12 students in schools across the United States — are serving to collect and store an unprecedented amount of personal data on children without their parents’ notice or consent.
A newly released investigation by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reveals student use of technology in school has grown at a profound rate, especially with free or low-fee devices issued by schools.
The education technology industry, according to the report, is now valued at over $8 billion.
Approximately half of the devices issued to U.S. children are Google Chromebooks, with about 30 million students, teachers, and school officials using Google’s G Suite for Education, observes EFF.
Student information collected by education technology services through these devices includes not only personally identifying information (PII) – such as name and date of birth – but also browsing history, location information, contact lists, and behavioral data.
Student data is also often automatically uploaded to the cloud – all without the knowledge of parents.
==========