Conversations That Matter with Alex Newman Education Apps Are Surveilling Children in Government Schools, Researcher Reveals
Mar 11, 2026
Katie Allen, policy advisor at Truth in Education who researches ed‑tech and student data privacy, discusses how schools use AI and apps to monitor children. She outlines which tools and programs collect behavioral and mental‑health data. The conversation covers who profits, risks of long‑term profiling, and practical steps parents can take to challenge contracts and seek opt‑outs.
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Classroom Surveillance Apps Monitor Everything
- Schools deploy student surveillance apps that scan emails, documents, chats, and flag content with red-flag algorithms.
- Katie Allen names products like Gaggle, Bark, and Securely that link to school logins and monitor student activity in real time.
Facial And Emotional Monitoring Joins Text Surveillance
- Visual and emotional monitoring technologies are used in classrooms, including facial recognition and emotion-detection through screens.
- Katie Allen says these tools tie behavioral data into a student's school profile, expanding surveillance beyond text to video and affect.
Research Exposed Thomson Reuters Clear In Schools
- Truth in Education screenshots vendor pages showing capabilities like pattern-of-life analysis and license plate tracking.
- Katie Allen cites Clear by Thomson Reuters as an example found in Georgia that links to parental license plate IDs.