‘Privacy Has to Begin at Home’

By Carl Straumsheim

The University of California at Berkeley is drawing praise for its decision to share how often it has granted access to email and other forms of electronic communication created by students, faculty members and staff at the institution.

The university earlier this year released its first transparency report, showing how many times since January 2014 the institution has received what are known as “nonconsensual access requests.” UC-Berkeley says it is the first university to release such a report, according to The Daily Californian.

“Berkeley is historically an institution that has valued privacy in order to foster a climate where academic debate can thrive,” William Allison, director of architecture platforms and integration, said in an email. He said the report contributes to “setting the bar for higher education in our transparency and accountability in handling people’s information, and in increasing awareness and an expectation of privacy in our community.”

In most cases, students, professors and other employees have to give their consent before the university can give a third party access to records of their electronic communications. The Electronic Communications Policy at Berkeley outlines four main limitations to those privacy protections.

For example, the university can be required by law to grant access, or decide to do so in the face of evidence suggesting the record holder broke the law or violated university policy. The university may also grant access in light of “compelling circumstances,” such as if not doing so could lead to “bodily harm, significant property loss or damage, loss of significant evidence of one or more violations of law or of university policies,” or if there isn’t enough time to obtain consent.

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[Source]: Inside Higher Ed