The COVID-19 Pandemic turned the world outside in, requiring educators worldwide to pivot to a distance learning instructional model. This seismic shift forced many educators to embrace digital technology on an unprecedented level. Unfortunately, as a result, many schools adopted educational technology en masse, without little review or exploration of these technologies. This presents a major concern for protecting student data and privacy, which was a growing issue before COVID. Thus, as the world begins to emerge from the pandemic, educators must acknowledge student data protection and privacy issues. Professionally, this matter is central to my edTech philosophy. This is why I hope that the following essay will convince more educators to embrace a culture of valuing protecting student data and privacy.