What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri
I go to a college in Missouri and feel that my privacy was severely violated by the University. A week ago police kicked in my dorm room door and confiscated all of my computer equipment, arrested me, and demanded information from me. I refused, asked for an attorney - the usual bit. Anyway, I was able to obtain a copy of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant, and a portion of the evidence used to establish probable cause were intercepted Yahoo Instant Messenger chat communication with my girlfriend. I was using my personal computer on the University's network at the time. There is a single Acceptable Use policy that I had to agree to when I first registered on the network, and there is no indication whatsoever that communications can/will be monitored. Of course, it is reasonable to assume that campus e-mail will be monitored, as well as other Unversity-related communications. However, this was a private conversation on a communication avenue unrelated to the University.
Upon review of the affidavit, I noticed that they reference some sort of policy language that states:
"Personal email messages and other electronic communications are not private or privileged, and are subject to interception and scrutiny without obtaining either the sender's or the receiver's permission. Personnel, criminal and/or disciplinary action may be taken against any member of the university community based on the contents of an intercepted electronic communication, should it be found to be in violation of law or university policy, including the university's sexual harassment policy."
I have multiple questions about this language, the first being that it seems like a huge breach of privacy to all students if the University can (apparently, and as evidenced in my case) monitor private communications. Second, no student is notified of this fact when they register their computer systems on the network. The only Acceptable Use policy we are supposed to accept, as stated earlier, does not even hint at the University monitoring our communications.
At the moment, I'm not concerned with the arrest or them finding what they want to find on the computers. I would just like to know if I have a case here to file a Motion to Suppress based on this, or at least sue the University for what I consider a massive breach of privacy. Considering the University's network is literally the student's only means of accessing the Internet, it's a very scary prospect that we have to throw our privacy out the door for something so necessary.
I go to a college in Missouri and feel that my privacy was severely violated by the University. A week ago police kicked in my dorm room door and confiscated all of my computer equipment, arrested me, and demanded information from me. I refused, asked for an attorney - the usual bit. Anyway, I was able to obtain a copy of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant, and a portion of the evidence used to establish probable cause were intercepted Yahoo Instant Messenger chat communication with my girlfriend. I was using my personal computer on the University's network at the time. There is a single Acceptable Use policy that I had to agree to when I first registered on the network, and there is no indication whatsoever that communications can/will be monitored. Of course, it is reasonable to assume that campus e-mail will be monitored, as well as other Unversity-related communications. However, this was a private conversation on a communication avenue unrelated to the University.
Upon review of the affidavit, I noticed that they reference some sort of policy language that states:
"Personal email messages and other electronic communications are not private or privileged, and are subject to interception and scrutiny without obtaining either the sender's or the receiver's permission. Personnel, criminal and/or disciplinary action may be taken against any member of the university community based on the contents of an intercepted electronic communication, should it be found to be in violation of law or university policy, including the university's sexual harassment policy."
I have multiple questions about this language, the first being that it seems like a huge breach of privacy to all students if the University can (apparently, and as evidenced in my case) monitor private communications. Second, no student is notified of this fact when they register their computer systems on the network. The only Acceptable Use policy we are supposed to accept, as stated earlier, does not even hint at the University monitoring our communications.
At the moment, I'm not concerned with the arrest or them finding what they want to find on the computers. I would just like to know if I have a case here to file a Motion to Suppress based on this, or at least sue the University for what I consider a massive breach of privacy. Considering the University's network is literally the student's only means of accessing the Internet, it's a very scary prospect that we have to throw our privacy out the door for something so necessary.