Section 9 Technical know-how activities feedback

Activity feedback: Legal issues

(Taken from the Ferl Practitioners’ Programme, Strand 5, Module W - Bridging the Gap)

The feedback for this activity has been based on examples or information given in the following resources/web sites:

  • DfES Superhighway Safety at [
  • The Copyright Licensing Agency at [
  • JISC Advice and Guidance series at [


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Section 9 Technical know-how activities feedback

Scenario

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Legal/illegal

1 Modifying settings and downloading software from the Internet

A learner comes into the Learning Resource Centre, logs on to a computer, changes the desktop settings, and installs some unauthorised software which has been downloaded from the Internet. Before leaving, the learner changes everything back and removes the software.Source: [

/ Under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 this is illegal and would be classified as unauthorised modification of computer material.
“Before the student first used the machines, she should have been given the Acceptable Use Policy, and this should have been discussed with her. The fact that she has changed everything back to the way it was is irrelevant – an offence has been committed. More practically, downloading software from the Internet is a risky thing to do, and could easily have introduced a virus to the centre’s computers. As a centre you should consider the appropriate action here – this will probably be either a warning or temporary suspension.”
Source: []

2 E-commerce and credit cardsSomeone has been using a computer for e-commerce to order some books. Rather carelessly, that person’s credit card details have been left on a piece of paper in the centre. Someone else finds the credit card details and uses them to make some orders, changing only the delivery address.

Source: [

/ This is illegal under the terms of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and would be classified as unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.
“It is no different from breaking into someone's house and stealing their property. There is a clear argument for reporting this to the police.”
Source: []

3 Copying material from the WebWhen searching the Web for teaching materials, a member of the curriculum staff finds a wonderful diagram clearly explaining a difficult concept. The member of staff wants to use it in teaching notes, and cannot find a clearly identified author, copyright symbol or statement prohibiting use. They copy it, save it in electronic format and use it in the teaching notes.

/ Copyright laws are complicated. This is not strictly legal, although it may be deemed legal if you follow certain protocols.
“Intellectual property is a series of legal rights that give protection to different types of invention, design, brand name or original creation. Of these, the one most people have heard about is copyright. This means that original works (such as music, writing or film) cannot be used without the author’s permission. Most people know of copyright because they see the copyright © symbol in books and other publications. However, it is not legally necessary to use this symbol, and copyright exists as soon as the material is recorded in some way, whether it is published in print or on a website.
As users it is important to realise that basically everything you will browse on the web belongs to someone. Whilst it’s perfectly acceptable to look at it via a browser (otherwise people wouldn’t publish their sites on the web), other actions could potentially breach copyright. For example, unless you get permission from the copyright owner you should not:
Make further electronic copies of the site (eg copy and paste into a word processor)
Print out multiple copies of content from the site
Use the images or other content in your own site.
Linking to another site however, is likely to be acceptable, and not a breach of copyright, though as a courtesy, you should probably ask permission to do this too.
If you do want to use the content from someone’s site, over and above merely browsing it, then you should check to see if there is a copyright notice on the site. If there is, it will say that material may be freely copied, not be copied at all, or impose conditions on its use. If there is no information on the site, contact the web master of the site.
Note that plagiarism – passing off another person’s work as your own is, of course, a breach of copyright as well as being unethical.
You should consider including guidance about copyright as part of your Acceptable Use Policy/Code of Conduct.”
Source: []

4 Digital copiesA group of performing arts learners is working on a complicated dance routine in preparation for a forthcoming event. Time is running out and they badly need extra practice. Other study commitments mean it is difficult for them all to meet up, so they must practise individually. They only have one copy of the music track, a current chart hit. They ask the technical support team for help in using the CD-writing facilities in college to make another copy, just for the purpose of practising for the forthcoming event, believing they are covered under the Performing Rights Society registration held by the college.

/ This is illegal. The Performing Rights Society licenses the broadcasting and performance of music in public, not the copying of music. Again, the copyright legislation is complicated, and there are different organisations covering different aspects of copyright (use of recordings, public broadcasting, copying sheet music etc). It is an infringement of copyright to make an electronic copy of any material without permission. Not only would the learners be breaking the law, but anyone aiding them in copying is also liable.

5 Data Protection Act 1998

Decide whether the college needs to register storage and use of data under the Data Protection Act 1998 for the following scenarios:
  • The college keeps a spreadsheet recording computer users’ names and addresses, and allocates users a user number. This number is used as a computer login ID. This is for security purposes, making it easier to identify who has been using a computer if it malfunctions, or if a virus or other software is introduced to it.
  • The college records the same information as above, but only on paper.
  • The Learning Resource Centre is collecting statistics on usage: logging how many people use the centre, their sex, age, ethnicity etc. However, they are not collecting information which can identify users individually, such as names and addresses.
  • A user is keeping their personal address list on a floppy, and updating it using the college’s computers.
  • A user is maintaining a membership list for their local darts league. Does this need to be registered by the centre, the user, or neither?
  • A user is maintaining an address list for the purposes of canvassing support for a political party (the user is the secretary of their local ward).

Source: [

/ Yes, this use of personal information needs to be registered.
Yes, the revised Data Protection Act, now in force, applies to records stored on paper too.
No, because they cannot be identified individually.
No, because the data are being held for personal use only.
No, certain non-profit-making organisations are generally exempt, such as clubs, churches and some charities.
Yes, this does have to be registered.
Source: []
6 Commercial use of college e-mail accounts
A member of the technical staff suspects that someone has been using their college e-mail account for private business correspondence unrelated to college activities. It is clearly stated in the Acceptable Use Policy that e-mail is provided to support college business and academic needs only, and should not be used for personal or commercial use. The technical support team decides to monitor e-mails relating to this user. / This is legal. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 authorises you to intercept communications provided you have advised users that monitoring of communications and use of the college facilities will be conducted. However, you may be required to prove ‘just cause’ to monitor and intercept e-mail, and should not read communications that are clearly not related to the suspected abuse. It is advisable to ensure that all computer users sign an acknowledgement stating they have been informed that monitoring will be conducted.
7 VLE accessibility
The college’s new VLE has many features, but the structure makes it difficult for users who rely on a screen reader. No action is taken to rectify this problem because currently there are no users accessing the VLE who rely on a screen reader. / This is illegal. Access to college resources for all learners, regardless of disability, is a legal requirement. It is not acceptable to wait until a learner requests this facility, it is the college’s responsibility to ensure reasonable access as a matter of course. Remember the concept of universal design – good design that makes resources accessible to all.


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