Law Policy Ethics and Behavior EDHI 297 March

Law, Policy, Ethics, and Behavior EDHI 297 March 27, 2002

Four Elements of Success Understand the law n Understand the technology n Effective policy-creation process n – Open and inclusive n Effective follow-up – Consistent – Evolutionary EDHI 297

The Legal Framework Legal and illegal content n Harassment, defamation n FERPA n DMCA n Common carrier versus content provider n Don’t trust me; I am not a lawyer n EDHI 297

Everything is in Flux Old laws applied to new situations n Little case law/precedents to guide us n USA PATRIOT Act n EDHI 297

-----> Group Exercise <----n n n Usenet $$Easy Money Change the World EDHI 297

Legal or Illegal? You decide: Pornography n Obscenity n Indecency n Child pornography n Advocating revolution in Kurdistan n EDHI 297

Legal or Illegal ? You decide: or Pornography … usually n Obscenity n Indecency n Child pornography n Advocating revolution in Kurdistan n – But Turkey may not think so! – "The First Amendment is merely a local ordinance on the Internet" -- Timothy May EDHI 297

Pornography, Revisited n “Is there a computer cluster somewhere someone can be safe from pornography and harassment? I'm sick of this. ” – Complainant is offended, embarrassed, distracted from her work – “Offender” asserts free speech rights and legality of images – Hostile environment? EDHI 297

Defamation “Jim Gabostsky beats his children. ” n “Sylvia Anderson is from outer space. ” n “Britney Spears can’t sing. ” n EDHI 297

Defamation “Jim Gabostsky beats his children. ” n “Sylvia Anderson is from outer space. ” n “Britney Spears can’t sing. ” n EDHI 297

Defamation = Libel and Slander Libel: printed or written n Slander: Spoken n Is it publication or is it speech: n – Email? – Web? EDHI 297

Proving Defamation Is it true? n Would a reasonable person believe it? n Tougher rules for public figures n Slander tougher to prove than libel n 50 laws; 50 perspectives n EDHI 297

Harassment n MIT definition: – Harassment is any conduct, verbal or physical, on or off campus, which has the intent or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's or group's educational or work performance at MIT – or which creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational, work or living environment. EDHI 297

Harassment n MIT criteria: – Did the incident cause stress that affected your ability, or the ability of others, to work or study? – Was it unwelcome behavior? – Would a reasonable person of your gender/race/religion subjected to this behavior find it unacceptable? EDHI 297

Harassment Example From: "Xxxxxxx J. Xxxx" <xxxxxx@zoo. uvm. edu> Hello, I opened my account to find 4, 082 of these messages. I have an idea of who's responsible and would like to be advised as to further legal action against this person. Thanks EDHI 297

Harassment Example ----- Forwarded message -----Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2001 01: 44: 41 From: xxxxx@gnu. uvm. edu To: xxxxx@gnu. uvm. edu Subject: Kaboom! you have been MAILBOMBED EDHI 297

Legal and Illegal Content Online n n Online content as publication Communications Decency Act (CDA) – Ruled unconstitutional in 1997 n Child online protection act of 1998 (CDA II): – Any communication for commercial purposes that is "harmful to minors” – Temporary restraining order (Feb. 1999) – Supreme Court arguments (Nov. 28, 2001) n Decision by June 30, 2002 – http: //www. cdt. org/speech/copa/ EDHI 297

Legal and Illegal Content Online n Children's Internet Protection Act (Ch. IPA or CIPA) (December, 2000) – Libraries must install software to censor material considered objectionable by the software vendors – for minors and adults – or lose federal funds – Multnomah County Library vs. United States of America trial started March 25 n ALA, ACLU, EFF EDHI 297

Law n n Common carrier or content provider? "A University is just an ISP that charges tuition. " – If you're a publisher, you're liable for content – If you know of illegal content (child pornography, obscenity, threats, defamation, copyright) you must act. n Distance education and fair use EDHI 297

Copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act U. S. basis is economic; elsewhere moral basis n Exclusive rights of author n – Copy – Derivative work – Distribution – Public performance – Public display EDHI 297 – Digital performance

Copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Contributory infringement -- University liable if have knowledge n Educational fair use -- no legal basis; stay tuned n Can't view an image without making a copy; DMCA helps n Email forward is copyright violation n EDHI 297

Copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Web ≠ public domain n Assume everything on Web is copyrighted n Assume infringement; protect by using (c), date, name, how to contact you n EDHI 297

Copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA offers protection for educational institutions and other ISPs n Action n Appeal n Resolution n EDHI 297

Relevant Laws n n Privacy Act of 1974 ECPA - Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (!!) – – – applies to disclosure of contents only inadvertent discovery court order Can't intercept: communication in progress Ok to intercept: stored communication EDHI 297

Relevant Laws FERPA n FOIA n – permanence, public record n USA Patriot Act of 2001 EDHI 297

Still to be decided Cookies n Click tracking n Reverse phone # lookup n EDHI 297

-----> Group Exercise <----n n n EDHI 297 RIAA Revolution Scientology

Policy = Law + Values Law Policy EDHI 297 Institutional Values

Policy Foundation Legal basis n Institution's values n EDHI 297

Policy Principles Better to say "yes" and deal with the challenges, than to say "no" and miss opportunities n Does IT require new policies? n – Impact on others (system performance) – Policy lags innovation – Rely on existing policies and judicial processes as much as possible EDHI 297

Policy Formation Transparent, inclusive process n Generalize; don’t try to think of everything n Be specific when necessary n Evolve n EDHI 297

Policy Enforcement Education n Effective enforcement n Appropriate sanctions n EDHI 297

Behavior = Law + Policy + Ethics Policy Law Behavior Ethics EDHI 297

Ethics Gray area outside law and policy n The values you forgot to put in the policy n Does "I can" mean it's okay? n Interpretation of policy and law; expectations n – Privacy and employer monitoring of electronic communication EDHI 297

---> Ethics Exercise <--n n n EDHI 297 Dorm cam Napster Offensive images

Open Questions Educating students about law, policy, and ethics: what works? n What's most likely to be effective in enforcing IT policies? n Are IT sanctions appropriate for IT violations? n EDHI 297

Taking Action: Violations of Policy and Law n It matters less _what_ action you take, than letting those offended or upset know that you sympathize, and that you _are_ taking action consistent with your policy. People satisfied even if the action taken was not the severe sanction they initially requested. – But follow the law, if it applies! EDHI 297

Taking Action Don't panic! n Act quickly! (But think first. ) n Straight-face test n Don't need absolute proof; think evidence n – Gather evidence before acting! EDHI 297

Taking Action Prepared cut-and-paste responses n Pre-set roles n Students (and others) generally cooperative n Bottom-line goal: appropriate behavior n EDHI 297

Dear Hapless User Standard note to alleged perpetrators of harassment, improper use, or other uncivil behavior. n "Someone using your account, did [whatever the offense is]. " n explains why this behavior or action is offensive, or violates institutional harassment policy, or Rules of Use, or whatever. n EDHI 297

Dear Hapless User n "Account holders are responsible for the use of their accounts. If you were unaware that your account was being used in this way, it may have been compromised. User Accounts can help you change your password and resecure your account. ” EDHI 297

Dear Hapless User n "If you were aware that your account was being used to [whatever it was], then please make sure that this does not happen again. " EDHI 297

Law, Policy, and Ethics EDHI 297 November 8, 2000

Resources: Copyright and Fair Use Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMA), Educational Fair Use Guideline, http: //www. libraries. psu. edu/avs/fairuse/ n http: //fairuse. stanford. edu n http: //www. law. cornell. edu/topics n http: //www. utsystem. edu/OGC/Intellectu al. Property/ n http: //www. copyright. com n EDHI 297

Resources: Privacy http: //www. epic. org/privacy_res ources_faq. html n http: //www. cdt. org/privacy n http: //www. glr. com/stalk. html n http: //www. cause. org/ white paper on "Privacy and the Handling of Student Information in the Electronic Networked Environments of Colleges and Universities. " n EDHI 297

Resources: Defamation and Harassment http: //www. lawguru. com/sexhara. html n http: //www. baclaw. com n http: //www. aclu. org/library/pbp 11. html n EDHI 297

------> Policy Exercise <-----n Create an AUP – Who would you involve – Include process for handling violations in policy – Describe sanctions EDHI 297