Danish students cleared to use Google Chromebooks

The Danish Municipalities’ Association (KL) has agreed with Google to allow the continued use of Google Chromebooks in schools after summer. This follows the Danish Data Protection Agency’s order in January to 53 municipalities to stop using Google’s educational tools due to data processing violations. Now Google has committed to altering its data handling to comply with Danish legislation. The chairman of KL’s Labor Market and Citizen Services, Peter Rahbæk Juel, expressed relief at finding a solution to prevent the loss of crucial digital tools in schools. Chromebooks are valued in education for their cost-effectiveness, using apps instead of traditional software. The initial complaint leading to scrutiny of Google’s Chromebooks surfaced when a child’s details were seen on YouTube. Although this issue is addressed, the Ministry of Digitization and Gender Equality is working on a broader strategy for digital tool use in the public sector.