[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Internet Virus

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it has been so wonderful to be in 
Tennessee over the past couple of weeks and to have the opportunity to 
listen to Tennesseans. We have listened and talked to local elected 
officials and teachers and parents from one corner of the State to 
another. They are very aware and are truly focused on the challenges we 
are going to be facing this fall in just a few weeks.
  Some of our school systems in Tennessee are going to be going back to 
school the first week of August. They have a lot of questions as to 
whether they are going to end up with classes meeting in person or 
online.
  Up until now, students have relied on virtual schooling platforms to 
stay connected to their teachers, and it is likely that in many 
communities, this system will continue at least through the fall 
semester.
  Relying on Google and other educational software providers keeps 
teachers and families safe from COVID-19, but these programs come with 
their own brand of hazards. Our increased reliance on Big Tech has 
highlighted just how vulnerable we are when things go awry. Even the 
platforms that have become commonplace over the years pose risks and 
not only just risks to children. You need look no further than last 
week's Twitter meltdown for evidence of how quickly a hacker or even an 
insider can turn a few tweets into a threat.
  I will tell you this: In Tennessee, we have a lot of security moms. 
Those security moms you hear so much about are really back in full 
force. They are concerned. They are paying close attention, and they 
are not going to back off of the Googles and the Facebooks and the 
Instagrams. They want to see these companies held accountable and 
transparent about how they follow and use data because when they see 
their children spending hours staring at TikTok or YouTube, they are 
beginning to see and fear a vulnerability. When they see their children 
using their classroom software, they begin to see and fear a 
vulnerability.
  They haven't forgotten that back in 2015, the Electronic Frontier 
Foundation filed a complaint with the FTC against Google alleging that 
their Google for Education platform was exploiting students' personal 
information and potentially exposing it to third parties. A 2017 report 
confirmed and expanded on these concerns.
  These programs have continued, but Big Tech has left parents with 
more questions than answers about what is happening with their 
children's data. How are they pulling in this information? How are they 
tracking these children? What are they doing with the Chromebook in 
schools program? Who has this information on their children, and what 
are they doing with it? What kinds of files are they building about our 
children?
  You know, I have said that one of the questions we should ask and 
work until we can find an answer is, Who owns the virtual you? Who owns 
it? Because the virtual you is you and your information online. It is 
you and your presence online. This is what parents fear.
  I will tell you, that fear is complicated because of the rise in 
mandatory use of technology by students. It has prompted me, along with 
several of our colleagues here, to ask the FTC to launch a major 
investigation into how these platforms protect student privacy. That is 
the question they have to answer. Are you protecting it? If not, why 
not? If not, are you selling it to the highest bidder? Are you 
profiting from this educational information?
  These security moms know it is not just their kids' safety and 
privacy at risk. They do their banking online, their shopping online, 
and they have had to deal with the nightmare of having their identity 
stolen during one of the many infamous retail hacks