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YOUR
NETWORK AND THE LAW
Richard
Love - Manager,
Information Technology
Annesley College, Adelaide (Formerly MLC Adelaide)
The
following pages provide excerpts of the various sections of legislation
mentioned
in part 1 of “Your Network and the Law”.
CODES
FOR INDUSTRY SELF REGULATION
IN AREAS OF INTERNET CONTENT
PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE
BROADCASTING SERVICES ACT
1992 AS AMENDED
December 1999
7.
INTERNET CONTENT HOST OBLIGATIONS IN RELATION TO HOSTING OF CONTENT
WITHIN AUSTRALIA
7.1
To the extent applicable, each Internet Content Host (Ed. Most schools
are ICHs) will take reasonable steps to ensure that content subscription
accounts for content hosted by the Internet Content Host (‘subscription
accounts’) are not provided to persons under the age of 18 years without the
consent of a parent, teacher or other responsible adult, which reasonable steps
may include one or more of the following:
(a)
placing a prominent notice on the site (or promotional material) on which
the subscription account is marketed that persons under the age of 18 years
should obtain the consent of a parent, teacher or other responsible adult prior
to using the subscription account;
(b) offering a
service of a kind described in Schedule 1 in association with the subscription
account; or otherwise taking reasonable steps to ensure that the subscription
account does not provide access to Prohibited Content or Potential Prohibited
Content such as by means as a closed content system; or
7.3
To the extent applicable, Internet Content Hosts will take reasonable
steps to provide users with information about:
(a)
supervising and controlling children's access to Internet content;
(b)
procedures
which users including parents and others responsible for children can implement
to control access to Internet content, including the availability, use and
appropriate application of Internet Content filtering software, labelling
systems and filtered Internet carriage services.
7.5
Internet Content Hosts will take reasonable steps, for example through
the inclusion of a relevant term of the relevant hosting contract or an
acceptable use policy, to inform Content Providers for whom hosting services are
provided by the Internet Content Host not to place on the Internet content in
contravention of any State, Territory or Commonwealth law.
7.7
For the purposes of clause 7.6 Internet Content Hosts shall be deemed to
have taken reasonable steps where they have included a relevant term or
statement in any hosting contract with end-users, any acceptable use policy, a
notice on the Internet Content Host's Home Page, a link to the information on a
Web Page approved by the IIA for that purpose.
(www.iia.net.au)
THE SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT (1953)
(2) A person who-
(a)
produces, or takes any step in the production of, indecent or offensive
material for
the purpose
of sale; or
(b) sells indecent or offensive material; or
(c) exhibits indecent or offensive material; or
(d)
exhibits indecent or offensive material in a public place or, except with
the permission of the
occupier, in or on private premises; or
(e) exhibits indecent material to a person so as to offend or insult that person; or
(f) delivers or exhibits indecent or offensive material to a minor (other
than a minor of whom the person
is a parent or guardian); or
(g)
being a parent or guardian of a minor, causes or permits the minor to
deliver or exhibit indecent or
offensive material to another person; or
(h)
causes or permits a person to do an act referred to in a preceding
paragraph of this subsection,
is guilty of an
offence.
(Consequences
of committing an offence include fines and/or imprisonment.)
THE
PRIVACY ACT (1988)
Guidelines
on Workplace E-mail, Web Browsing and Privacy (30/3/2000)
Unlike items of personal property that you keep in a desk draw or locker, electronic messages you send or receive at work are not legally considered to be your personal property. Therefore an employer who owns the server or personal computer on which your email is stored is entitled to look at or copy it. Many employers reserve the right to check e-mail as a precaution against fraud, workplace harassment or breaches of confidence by employees.
However employees also have legitimate expectations of privacy in relation to their e-mail communications. A failure to acknowledge these expectations can affect the overall usefulness of providing e-mail facilities. It is strongly recommended that employers adopt clear policy statements on what rights employees can and cannot expect in relation to their electronic messages which reflect the specific needs of their organisations. All employees should be made aware of the policy.
Policies should cover:
· the requirements for storing e-mail where it relates to core business of the firm;
· whether back-up copies are stored on the server and who has access to them;
· the level of privacy employees can generally expect for their e-mail
· the circumstances in which management reserves a right to read and take action on employee email;
· the fact that e-mail can be subject to production in litigation or other investigations;
· that it is unacceptable to use e-mail to abuse or harass other employees.
NB:
While the Privacy Act was initially applied to the public sector only,
the Privacy Commission has developed a number of “guidelines” (such as those
above) for both public and private organizations.
THE
CHILDREN’S PROTECTION ACT (1993)
Reporting
Child Abuse & Neglect
Mandated
Notification Guidelines
·
It is your personal responsibility to report suspected abuse and neglect
– it is not the responsibility of your
supervisor, principal or employer.
· You do not have to be able to prove that the abuse has occurred.
· You must accompany your notification with a statement (which may
be verbal) of the observations,
information and opinions upon which the
suspicion is based.
· You are immune from civil liability for reporting your suspicion
in good faith. (Section 12 (a) Children’s
Protection Act 1993.)
· You are entitled to feedback about the way your notification is
being dealt with by FAYS (Family and Youth
Services.)
In general, child abuse
is categorised in four ways.
1. Physical abuse is commonly characterised by physical injury resulting from punching, beating, shaking, biting, burning or otherwise harming a child.
2. Sexual abuse occurs when someone in a position of power to the child or young person uses his or her power to involve the child/young person in sexual activity. This can include a range of behaviours including: sexual suggestion, exhibitionism, mutual masturbation, oral sex, penile or other penetration of the genital or anal region.
3. Emotional abuse tends to be a chronic behavioural pattern directed at the child/young person where by their self-esteem and social competence is undermined or eroded over time.
4. Neglect is characterised by the failure to provide for the child/young person’s basic needs. This can occur through direct and deliberate action or by omission or deliberate inaction to care for the child/young person.
State
or legal definitions of child abuse and neglect.
Legal
definitions in Section 6 of the Children’s Protection Act 1993 define the
extent of abuse and neglect that the state has authority to intervene in.
6(1) “abuse or neglect”, in relation to a child, means-
(a) sexual abuse of the child; or
(b) physical or emotional abuse of the child, or neglect of the child, to the extent that-
(i) the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, physical or psychological injury detrimental to the child’s wellbeing; or
(ii)
the child’s physical or psychological development is in jeopardy.
(If you suspect child
abuse or neglect, you are obliged to report it.
If you do not, you may have breached the Act yourself.)
