This PIA has been initiated as an outcome of a Privacy Compliance Audit report completed by the Information and Privacy Commissioner (“IPC”) on the Yukon Department of Education’s use of student personal information on internet platforms.
Internet platforms means any medium whereby content (including, but not limited to images, videos, messages and sound files) is broadcast to, or capable of being broadcast to, the general public or a significant section of the general public. For clarity, and by way of example, internet platforms include but are not limited to school webpages, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and also any ‘blog’ or other type of web journal.
The Department of Education (“DOE”) of the Yukon Government (“YG”) permits Yukon schools to utilize internet platforms (namely, school websites and social media platforms) for connecting and communicating with parents, students, and school staff. The DOE has established guidelines to ensure that these websites and social media platforms have been approved by the DOE and established appropriately. As will be discussed throughout this PIA, the DOE’s guidelines direct schools to ensure that:
• All content, links and graphics published on a school website are appropriate for the school community and directly related to the goals of the school’s website.
• Schools have obtained a written agreement from students’ parents before taking photos and videos of students that are published on a school website or social media.
The internet platforms for Yukon schools that exist, at the time of writing this PIA, have been summarized in Appendix A of this PIA. Schools that have since moved to the First Nation School Board (FNSB) are using different internet platforms than presented.
