University students, staff and faculty should be aware that the school’s server monitoring is infringing on individuals’ rights to privacy. Nothing protects users from having the personal files they transfer on University servers examined on suspicion of illegal activity. The way the University’s “Acceptable Use Policy” operates now does not protect students from privacy invasion, and a new policy is in order that specifically addresses users’ rights.
A draft policy is currently waiting for approval by University general counsel Melinda Grier, but Grier has been remarkably tight-lipped about the policy’s progress.
When considering the proposed policy, Grier should take a cue from the University of California system. Those schools operate under a policy that disallows examination of campus network users’ files without consent of the user. Exceptions are made only in emergency situations when there is a threat to person or property, or when there is concrete evidence a law has been violated.
The University of California schools have shown through the implementation of this policy that they respect the privacy of their students instead of restricting what students can and cannot download. The University of Oregon should be protecting students from privacy violations in the same vein. Students and faculty should be treated as adults and trusted to use the University’s server responsibly. Otherwise, students are forced to censor themselves in order to avoid raising suspicion among bandwidth monitors.
University of Oregon computer use monitors have every right to observe account users who are using excessive bandwidth, because those people are detracting from server availability. However, monitoring bandwidth usage is different from taking the extra step of checking a user’s hard drive and potentially invading their privacy — a distinction that needs to be clarified in the University of Oregon’s new privacy policy.
Privacy is an issue that affects everyone on campus, especially those who have no choice but to use the University’s server.
Action on the current draft policy needs to be taken immediately to ensure the privacy of users. Searching personal files is ethically unacceptable, and students, staff and faculty should be protected from University-led
privacy invasions.