Philadelphia, PA: The College Board, which runs the SAT, and ACT, Inc., is facing a consumer fraud
class action lawsuit over allegations they sell identifying information about the hundreds of thousands of teenagers who take the exams each year without the students' consent.
According to the lawsuit, the companies are "masking the sale" of personal details about the students "under the guise of 'sharing'" the teens' information with other agencies. The lawsuit also claims that the companies do not disclose to the students that it is selling their personal information for profit.
According to the lawsuit, College Board, SAT, and ACT, Inc, collect data including their names, home addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, and social security numbers and sell it at 33 cents per student, per buyer. However, the lawsuit claims that "at no time disclosed" did the companies disclose to test-takers that their information would be sold "to third parties for monetary gain."
Over 1.6 million students across the US are graduating this year and will have taken the SAT. And, nearly 1.8 million graduating high school students took the ACT. "These tests are generally mandatory for students desiring to attend college after high school or earn college credit while in high school," the lawsuit states. However, students must opt-in to allow the SAT to distribute their information, while they must opt-out to prevent the ACT from doing so.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago by Rachel Specter. She is claiming consumer fraud and deceptive business practices, breach of written contract, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of confidential information, and unjust enrichment.
