School social media surveillance contracts and policies
| Submitted | Aug. 29, 2017 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maine Freedom of Access Act ("FOAA"), I hereby request the following records:
Absolutely any and all policies, procedures, contracts, agreements, regulations, or other directive materials related to the use of social media by students and social media surveillance and associated software. Please provide all responsive materials held by this institution's Department of Administration, Department of Athletics, and Department of Public Safety, or police force.
Please include in this request:
• Any and all contracts, agreements, associated exhibits, amendments, and other other associated materials for relationships with social media monitoring services by any department under the umbrella of this University, including but not limited to those with YouDiligence, Varsity Monitor, or any similar entities used to monitor students' online presence.
• Any and all policies and procedures regarding the use or regulation of students' social media by faculty, employees, athletic personnel, or any other individuals under the umbrella of this University.
• Any and all directives regarding the use of social media by faculty, employees, athletic personnel, or any other individuals under the umbrella of this University.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by 1 M.R.S.A. § 408(6). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl C.D. Lipton
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 29, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Thomas Connolly
Dear Mr. Lipton:
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of both of your Maine Freedom of Access
Act (FOAA) requests dated August 29, 2017. This email will serve as the 5
working day confirmation receipt of your requests under 1 MRSA §408-A(3).
Our understanding of your request is that the following records are being
sought from the University of Maine:
1. All contracts and associated documents, if any, for social media
monitoring services, including but not limited to those with YouDiligence,
Varsity Monitor, or any similar entities used to monitor students' online
presence.
2. Any and all University of Maine policies and procedures regarding
the use or regulation of students' social media.
3. Any and all University of Maine-issued directives regarding the use
of social media by faculty, employees, athletic personnel, or any other
individuals acting on behalf of the University of Maine.
Please clarify the scope of your request if these are not the records you
have requested. I will shortly let you know if we have any further
questions and of the approximate time we expect it will take for us to
compile nonprivileged records responsive to your request. Although we
acknowledge your request that costs be waived, we reserve the right to seek
reimbursement of statutorily defined costs should it appear that searching
for and compiling responsive records will present an undue burden.
Regards,
Tom Connolly
*Thomas J. Connolly*
Assistant University Counsel
Office of General Counsel
University of Maine System
46 University Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330
ph: (207) 621-3014
fx: (207) 621-3074
Confidentiality Notice: This email and any attachments are intended only
for the individual(s) named in the text of the message and may contain
confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you
should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the
sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake
and delete this e-mail from your system. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use of this e-mail and/or attachments is strictly
prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation.
From: Thomas Connolly
Dear Mr. Lipton,
Research has been completed for the records we understood you to have
requested. As you have not provided any additional information or
clarification, we consider our response here to be in complete satisfaction
of your request. Should additional responsive records become available, the
University reserves the right to supplement its response.
With respect to each of your individual requests:
1. The University does not have records responsive to this request.
2. Please find attached the social media policy used by the Athletics
Department of the University of Maine. Additionally, the Electronic
Communication Policy of the University of Maine's Student Handbook may
apply to use of social media. The current version of that policy may be
found here:
https://umaine.edu/handbook/policies-regulations/electronic-communication-policy/
3. The University does not have records responsive to this request.
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the records being
provided to you.
Regards,
Tom Connolly
*Thomas J. Connolly*
Assistant University Counsel
Office of General Counsel
University of Maine System
46 University Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330
ph: (207) 621-3014
fx: (207) 621-3074
Confidentiality Notice: This email and any attachments are intended only
for the individual(s) named in the text of the message and may contain
confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you
should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the
sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake
and delete this e-mail from your system. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use of this e-mail and/or attachments is strictly
prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation.
From: Beryl Lipton
Mr. Connolly,
Thanks so much for having passed this policy along. I really appreciate the help, and I hope all is well up north.
Best wishes,
Beryl
Files
pages