The law is not clear yet, but in two separate cases bulletin board service operators have been found liable for copyright infringement based on the actions of their subscribers. Recommendations for changes to the Copyright Act were recently proposed by a working group on intellectual property of the Federal Government's National Information Infrastructure Task Force. The group has presented a preliminary draft of its report in which it suggests changing the language in the Copyright Act to clarify guidelines for electronic materials. Privacy Include in your policy the institution's guidelines for collecting, storing, and accessing information on students and employees. Lack of privacy in the Computer Age is a real concern for faculty, staff, and students.
Universities collect and retain a significant amount of information in electronic format.
Concerns about privacy are so strong among the general population that three major studies in the past two decades have recommended the establishment of a permanent governmental agency to deal with privacy issues. However, due to the anti-regulatory mood of the country and strong opposition from the business community, no such agency has been created. At a minimum, all persons with computer accounts must be informed of the institution's practice concerning retention and backup of E-mail messages. The widespread use of E-mail has created another privacy concern. The institution's guidelines may recognize certain categories of electronic communication as appropriate for extraordinary protection.