SEEU Review vol. 6 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

Dennis J. Farrington, PhDcommercial activities; and access to non-institutional staff and studentsshould not be given, other than for official visitors (and possibly conferenceattendees) accessing their own institution to avoid charges of hacking. 97 FreeWi-Fi services are a particular issue, not only in relation to online breach ofcopyright under the Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA), but also moregenerally.In addition, the user may be referred to relevant legislation available online,such as the Computer Misuse Act 1990, DPA, the Copyright, Designsand Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) and DEA; as well as to national guidelinesconcerning JANET. There may even be a note circulated on ‘NetworkEtiquette’ (or ‘netiquette’), informing them of conventions amongst users ofe-mail and of newsgroups—e.g. reply promptly, treat e-mail as if sending apostcard (anybody can read it along the way), don’t indulge in sending‘flamemail’, be clear, remember that despatching an e-mail on theinstitutional account is like using its letterhead. Sending a threatening ormalicious e-mail over a public telecommunications network is an offenceunder s. 127 Communications Act 2003; it is also an offence under theProtection from Harassment Act 1997 (the ‘stalking’ legislation) if done ontwo or more repeated occasions. 98 Members of staff or students who arebeing harassed, or even stalked, via e-mail, should be advised to contact thesender’s internet service provider (ISP) and make a complaint, which couldresult in that person losing their e-mail account, and, at any rate, sets up atrail of evidence. Second, all the e-mails should be kept as further evidence.Third, they should not reply to the harasser. Fourth, if there are threats ofviolence, or of a sexual nature, they should contact the police immediately,because this can constitute a crime. Irritating en masse e-mails(‘spam/spamming’) are controlled in the USA 99 where most of the spam979899boards’. An ISP acting as a mere conduit or is simply caching has no liability if it acts toremove or disable access to information which it becomes aware of as being defamatoryor illegal: Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2013implementing the European Directive on Electronic Commerce 2000/31/EC, OJ L 178 17July 2000. The 2002 Regulations have been amended, extended and applied to other areasof law by SI 2002/1775, SI 2002/2015, SI 2003/115, SI 2003/2500, SI 2004/1178, SI2004/3378, SI 2005/148, SI 2005/3222, SI 2007/1550, SI 2007/2497 and SI 2010/894.The offence of unauthorized access was created by the Computer Misuse Act 1990 passedin the wake of R v Gold; R v Schifreen [1988] 1 AC 1063, HL. Unauthorized access by anauthorized user is covered: R v Bow Street Magistrates Court, ex p Allison [1999] 4 AllER 319.Law enforcement agencies in the USA estimate that electronic communications are afactor in from 20% to 40% of all stalking cases.The CAN-SPAM Act, effective 1 January 2004 requires marketers to remove customersfrom their lists when requested, and requires them to provide automated opt-out methodsas well as complete contact information (address and phone) with alternate means of32