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Guidelines for use of IT resources |
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What responsibilities do I bear…with regard to honesty, integrity, and the law? The University is expected to uphold local, state and federal law, including copyright law. Members of the University community may not knowingly assist others with use of the University’s information technology resources or Internet access for purposes of violating the law, including copyright law. Employees who are asked for such assistance must refuse. Moreover, an employee should report suspicion of crime involving, or revealed by, University technology resources (such as computers, network or Internet access, e-mail) to appropriate University officials. For example, if you are an employee and, during the course of your work, learn of criminal activity involving child pornography or offenses involving minors, you should bring this information to the attention of a supervisor. Department of Public Safety should be contacted immediately if the activity poses a risk of immediate harm to others. In all cases, employees must treat information regarding potentially unlawful activity with discretion and sensitivity to the privacy rights of others. There also are actions which may not be specifically prohibited by law, but which are nonetheless dishonest. Such actions also are unacceptable in use of the University information technology resources and Internet access. You must not create, alter, or delete any electronic information contained in, or posted to, any campus computer or affiliated network for fraudulent or deceptive purposes that may be harmful to others. Moreover, signing an electronic document (including e-mail), or posting to a Web site, blog, or social network, or appearing as a virtual reality avatar, with someone else's name may be a violation of University rules especially if the person whose name you are signing has not consented to your doing so. It also will be considered a violation of University rules if you use the University's electronic resources or Internet access to create, alter, or delete electronic information contained in or posted to any computer system on or outside the campus for which you are not authorized to do so. You must not create and send, or forward, electronic chain letters. To do so may also violate federal law, even if the chain letter assures the reader that it is not illegal and cite statutes as "proof." The redistribution of chain letters is a violation of University policy even when there is no mention of money in the letter. Some chain letters which appear to relate to genuine causes often are “urban legend” by the time they reach you; if you research the issue you may discover the cause existed long ago and the letter no longer is meaningful. You must not post "pyramid scheme" messages. A pyramid scheme calls for escalating numbers to send money, usually small amounts, to others, with the expectation that a large amount of money will come to them. Any posting or message that suggests such a scheme is a violation of University policy and may violate federal and other laws. Gambling is prohibited for employees in the workplace except as specifically noted in University policy 5.21 (www.princeton.edu/hr/policies/conditions/521.htm). This prohibition includes Internet gambling. Internet gambling makes it possible for someone to gamble around the clock. Anyone who gambles frequently or for long periods of time may be gambling compulsively, which may damage their professional, academic, and personal life. Gambling is a closely regulated activity in New Jersey, and to date none of the Internet gambling sites available in New Jersey are legal. Individuals who are defrauded or otherwise victimized in connection with their use of such sites are not likely to have any protection or recourse under New Jersey law. For further information regarding the risks and potential consequences of Internet gambling, see the web site for New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (www.state.nj.us/lps/ge/internet_gambling/law.htm). Note also that federal legislation makes it illegal for U.S. financial institutions to pay Internet gambling charges. Internet gamblers hence should not expect any protection under federal law. You may not “borrow” an Internet Protocol address assigned to another person or entity, create a fraudulent IP addresses for a device you own or are using, or attempt to use with one device the IP address assigned to another you own or use. You may not operate a server that assigns, or attempts to control, IP addresses on the campus network. You may not falsify a hardware address for a computer connecting to the campus network or a wireless interface used to connect a computer to Princeton’s network. Individuals registering a computer or other device for Dormnet or campus network service must provide accurate information about that device only, and must not attempt to obtain service for two separate devices via a single registration. You should be aware that there are federal, state and sometimes local laws that govern certain aspects of computer, broadcast video, and telecommunications use. With considerable focus on U. S. homeland security and the national infrastructure, and with escalating pursuit of copyright infringers continuing to generate concern, additional legislation is emerging. Members of the University community are expected to respect the federal, state and local laws in use of the campus technologies and University-provided network access, as well as to observe and respect University-specific rules and regulations. There are particular concerns regarding copyright law and protection of intellectual property rights; these are treated in the following section. Previous Section  |
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© 2009 by the Trustees of Princeton University. Last modified
9/9/09
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