Cyberspatial Bill of Rights

[L. Detweiler]

Of interest to some...

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Date: 04 Dec 93 14:20:40 EST
From: Marty Winter <76407.3521 at compuserve.com>
To: "SEA.LIST" <sea-list at panix.com>
Subject: Electronic Bill of Rights

Courtesy Friends & Lovers BBS, Selkirk, NY



 Posted with the permission of Frank Connolly of
 The American University. Information on how to contact him is at the
 end of this document.

 ++++++++++++++++++
 The following document might be of interest...
 Called the  Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
 for Electronic Learners,  it is a model policy statement regarding the
 rights and responsibilities of individuals and institutions regarding
 computers and electronic networks in education. Although the project
 was begun as part of EDUCOM, it is now an initiative of the American
 Association of Higher Education (AAHE).

 Your comments and suggestions for gaining consideration and discussion
 of the Bill on campuses, in school districts and professional forums
 would be appreciated.

 ===============    TEXT OF BILL FOLLOWS  ===========================


 PREAMBLE

 In order to protect the rights and recognize the responsibilities of
 individuals and institutions, we, the members of the educational
 community, propose this Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for the
 Electronic Community of Learners.  These principles are based on a
 recognition that the electronic community is a complex subsystem of 
 the educational community founded on the values espoused by that
 community.  As new technology modifies the system and further empowers
 individuals, new values and responsibilities will change this culture.
 As technology assumes an integral role in education and lifelong
 learning, technological empowerment of individuals and organizations
 becomes a requirement and right for students, faculty, staff, and
 institutions, bringing with it new levels of responsibility that
 individuals and institutions have to themselves and to other members
 of the educational community.


 ARTICLE I: INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

 The original Bill of Rights explicitly recognized that all individuals
 have certain fundamental rights as members of the national community.
 In the same way, the citizens of the electronic community of learners
 have fundamental rights that empower them.

 Section 1.
 A citizen's access to computing and information resources shall 
 not be denied or removed without just cause. 
 
 Section 2. 
 The right to access includes the right to appropriate training and 
 tools required to effect access. 

 Section 3. 
 All citizens shall have the right to be informed about personal 
 information that is being and has been collected about them, and 
 have the right to review and correct that information,.  Personal 
 information about a citizen shall not be used for other than the 
 expressed purpose of its collection without the explicit 
 permission of that citizen. 

 Section 4. 
 The constitutional concept of freedom of speech applies to 
 citizens of electronic communities. 
 
 Section 5. 
 All citizens of the electronic community of learners have
 ownership rights over their own intellectual works.
 
 
 ARTICLE II: INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 Just as certain rights are given to each citizen of the electronic 
 community of learners, each citizen is held accountable for his 
 or her actions.  The interplay of rights and responsibilities 
 within each individual and within the community engenders 
 the trust and intellectual freedom that form the heart of our 
 society. This trust and freedom are grounded on each person's 
 developing the skills necessary to be an active and contributing 
 citizen of the electronic community. These skills include an 
 awareness and knowledge about information technology and 
 the uses of information and an understanding of the roles in the 
 electronic community of learners. 

 Section 1. 
 It shall be each citizen's personal responsibility to actively 
 pursue needed resources: to recognize when information is 
 needed, and to be able to find, evaluate, and effectively use 
 information. 

 Section 2.
 It shall be each citizen's personal responsibility to recognize 
 (attribute) and honor the intellectual property of others. 

 Section 3. 
 Since the electronic community of learners is based upon the 
 integrity and authenticity of information, it shall be each 
 citizen's personal responsibility to be aware of the potential for 
 and possible effects of manipulating electronic information: to 
 understand the fungible nature of electronic information; and to 
 verify the integrity and authenticity, and assure the security of 
 information that he or she compiles or uses. 

 Section 4. 
 Each citizen, as a member of the electronic community of 
 learners, is responsible to all other citizens in that community: 
 to respect and value the rights of privacy for all; to recognize and 
 respect the diversity of the population and opinion in the 
 community; to behave ethically; and to comply with legal 
 restrictions regarding the use of information resources. 
 
 Section 5. 
 Each citizen, as a member of the electronic community of
 learners, is responsible to the community as a whole to
 understand what information technology resources are 
 available, to recognize that the members of the community 
 share them, and to refrain from acts that waste resources or 
 prevent others from using them. 


 ARTICLE III: RIGHTS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

 Educational institutions have legal standing similar to that of 
 individuals.  Our society depends upon educational institutions 
 to educate our citizens and advance the development of 
 knowledge.  However, in order to survive, educational 
 institutions must attract financial and human resources. 
 Therefore, society must grant these institutions the rights to the 
 electronic resources and information necessary to accomplish 
 their goals. 

 Section 1. 
 The access of an educational institutions to computing and 
 information resources shall not be denied or removed without 
 just cause. 

 Section 2.
 Educational institutions in the electronic community of learners 
 have ownership rights over the intellectual works they create. 

 Section 3. 
 Each educational institution has the authority to allocate 
 resources in accordance with its unique institutional mission. 


 ARTICLE IV: INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 Just as certain rights are assured to educational institutions in 
 the electronic community of learners, so too each is held 
 accountable for the appropriate exercise of those rights to foster 
 the values of society and to carry out each institution's mission. 
 This interplay of rights and responsibilities within the 
 community fosters the creation and maintenance of an 
 environment wherein trust and intellectual freedom are the 
 foundation for individual and institutional growth and success. 
 
 Section 1. 
 The institutional members of the electronic community of 
 learners have a responsibility to provide all members of their
 community with legally acquired computer resources (hardware,
 software, networks, data bases, etc.) in all instances where access 
 to or use of the resources is an integral part of active 
 participation in the electronic community of learners. 

 Section 2. 
 Institutions have a responsibility to develop, implement, and 
 maintain security procedures to insure the integrity of 
 individual and institutional files. 

 Section 3. 
 The institution shall treat electronically stored information as 
 confidential.  The institution shall treat all personal files as 
 confidential, examining or disclosing the contents only when 
 authorized by the owner of the information, approved by the 
 appropriate institutional official, or required by local, state or 
 federal law. 

 Section 4. 
 Institutions in the electronic community of learners shall train 
 and support faculty, staff, and students to effectively use 
 information technology.  Training includes skills to use the 
 resources, to be aware of the existence of data repositories and
 techniques for using them, and to understand the ethical and
 legal uses of the resources.

                                                 August, 1993

 *  Frank Connolly                         The American University      *
 *  FRANK at American.EDU                     119 Clark Hall               *
 *  (202) 885-3164                         Washington, D.C  20016       *