Australia Creates Massive Schoolchild Database

According to ArsTechnica, “students in Australia may soon be forced to have their photos, interests, and aspirations profiled in a massive database meant to help educators keep track of their progress.” The Queensland Education Minister, Rod Welford, has said that the database is “non-negotiable” and that students may not get public education if they refuse to be in it. Many have pointed out the potential for hackers or pedophiles to gain access to such a large and comprehensive database. The proposal certainly lends credence to the point that my colleagues Ryan Radia and Wayne Crews expressed in an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday: that governments are, by far, the worst offenders of privacy (and often ridiculously poor protectors of their own data).