Legal electronic issues for colleges and universities
My university is thinking about using Google for a number of solutions, including email and a online information portal. We found that Google can save lots of money and personnel while giving the most up to date technology to our users. But during out discussions, we were thinking about the legal implications of having a third party host data. The potential problem arises when faculty and administrative email is not hosted by the university, but still is discoverable if a lawsuit arises.
Some universities are worried about this and avoiding third-party solutions altogether, while others seem to be adopting a “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” strategy, both of which are bad. In fact, the latter is just plain dumb – it opens up universities to serious legal problems when a lawsuit inevitably happens.
Where data can be hosted, and who owns it, is a huge unresolved issue in cyber law.