Education Privacy Act (student social media and device privacy in higher education)
DE Education Privacy Act
Students
Bars Delaware colleges and universities from demanding students' or applicants' social media passwords, making them log in in front of staff, requiring them to add the school as a contact, accessing their accounts through their contacts, or installing tracking software on their personal devices. Campus police investigations and threat assessments are exempt.
- Where
- Delaware
- Citation
- 14 Del. C. §§ 8101 to 8105 (Title 14, Chapter 81)
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2012-08-19
- Enforced by
- Not specified in the chapter
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- No penalty or enforcement mechanism is stated; institutions may not discipline, dismiss, or refuse to admit students for refusing a prohibited request (8104).
- Applies to
- Public and nonpublic institutions of higher or postsecondary education, as to admitted students and applicants (8102(a), (b), (e))
Practices it requires
- Do not request or require a student or applicant to disclose passwords or account information for a social networking account, or to log on to any account in the presence of an institution agent.14 Del. C. § 8103(a)-(b)
- Do not monitor or track a student's or applicant's personal electronic device by installing software or remote interception.14 Del. C. § 8103(c)
- Do not require students to add the institution as a social media contact or access their profiles indirectly through their contacts.14 Del. C. § 8103(d)-(e)
- Do not discipline, dismiss, or refuse admission because a student or applicant refused to disclose passwords or log in.14 Del. C. § 8104
Sources
- Official text
- 14 Del. C. ch. 81 (Delaware Code Online)
- 78 Del. Laws c. 354 (approved July 20, 2012; effective 30 days after enactment)
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Research reference, not legal advice.