FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 9, 2026
Contact: Ashwin Verghese, Communications Director, [email protected], 508-263-0289
Statement on AFT/UFT Deal with Microsoft
Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin released the following statement today:
“In the absence of legislation to protect students and teachers from the dangers of AI, AFT and UFT have stepped in and worked out an agreement with Microsoft that creates important safety and privacy standards, including strong data minimization requirements and a prohibition on the use of data for training and advertising. But this agreement elides the most important question of all: Should student-facing AI products be used in schools at all? There is no evidence that AI products are effective teaching tools for children and growing evidence that they undermine learning and create a number of risks for kids. That’s why Fairplay and its network of experts are calling on schools to implement a five-year pause on all GenAI products until it can be determined whether those products are safe for young people and beneficial to their education.
“We hope this agreement does not fool schools into thinking that GenAI products are safe and effective for use with schoolchildren or hoodwink policymakers into thinking legislation restricting AI use in schools is not needed.
“It’s also important to note that this agreement only applies to Microsoft, not to the many other companies selling AI products to schools. It also places the burden on schools to execute and enforce the contract, which they are not in a position to do, and which should be the job of regulators. And AI companies hope that students who use their products all day in class will go home and keep using them at night, where there are likely to be no protections for kids.
“So while we applaud AFT and UFT for securing these important protections, these unions should never have been in this position in the first place. Congress and the states should have already created industry-wide standards that are enforceable through attorneys general and a private right of action. With our elected leaders failing to live up to their responsibilities, we are left with an agreement that places an unfair burden on schools and doesn’t do enough to keep kids safe.”
###
About Fairplay
Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.