This week I have been preoccupied with the question of a school's ability to regulate a student's usage of the internet. Though there are certain protocols that a student must follow if they are using the school's machines, what about outside of school? If a student is on his or her home computer, using the internet service their guardians pay for and they are discussing things relative to their schooling, can the school discipline them?
I think the answer is no.
As over-litigious as it sounds, if a student is libeling an administrator or teacher, the offended party may have to bring legal action against the student (or guardian). Though this is costly and inefficient and teachers definitely have their privacy rights, we cannot take away rights from the students either.
There may even be, in the future, the necessity of an ADR setup for disputes like this. In the current period, it is much simpler to disseminate discontent with a person and slander and libel them than ever before. This needs to be remedied.
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