"When users tried to access tickets for school events through one of PlayOn's platforms, GoFan, a pop-up appeared, prompting the ticket-holder to agree to the company's privacy policy, which allowed the sale of personal data. There was no way to say no, the order said: The pop-up obscured the screen so that it was impossible to access the ticket without agreeing to the company's terms."
"Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn't have to leave their privacy rights at the door, said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy's head of enforcement, in a press release Tuesday. You couldn't attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn't show your ticket without being tracked for advertising."
"PlayOn offers a slew of online products that coordinate ticket and merchandise sales for schools and youth sports organizations, along with other services, such as fundraising and streaming. Its subsidiaries include GoFan, MaxPreps, and NFHS Network, which are used by school districts stretching from Los Angeles and San Diego to Modoc, Mono, and Sierra counties."
PlayOn, a company serving approximately 1,400 California schools through its GoFan ticketing platform and other subsidiaries, repeatedly violated California privacy law in 2023 and 2024. The California Privacy Protection Agency issued a disciplinary order requiring a $1.1 million fine for failing to provide students and families with opt-out mechanisms for data collection. When users accessed tickets for school events through GoFan, a mandatory pop-up required agreement to privacy policies allowing personal data sales to advertisers, with no option to decline. Students could not attend school events without accepting these terms, effectively forcing them to surrender privacy rights to access tickets.
#student-privacy-violations #data-collection-and-sales #california-privacy-law-enforcement #school-ticketing-platforms
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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