When San Jose State University formed a joint library with the local public library, it incorporated the public library's privacy screens on its computers. The privacy screens use the same technology as the screens on an ATM - which allow only users who are standing directly in front of the screen to view its contents.
According to the Spartan Daily, the screens allowed the library to maintain open access with no filtering and provide privacy for patrons. The paper also reported that some saw the implementation of the screens as a way to view pornography in the library - and that 21 arrests have been made on suspicion of lewd acts in public committed by patrons who got carried away while viewing pornography in the library.
According to Director of the Tisch Library Jo-Ann Michalak, "there is no filter software on any of our public computers." Michalak said, however, that the Tisch Library Reference Department does have a general guideline for the use of public computers: "The primary use of library computers is for academic research," Michalak said.
"The staff tries to use common sense when interpreting the guideline," she said. "When all the computers are in use, the reference librarian will encourage anyone not doing academic research to free up a computer. They try not to invade users' privacy, so they announce that all the computers are busy and there are users waiting, and usually someone moves on."
"Occasionally, if it appears that the use is not academic, we ask the person directly if they need help finding something, and, again, usually they move on," Michalak added. "It's a very fine line. We don't want users to feel harassed by staff, but we don't want a situation in which a user feels harassed because they can see pornography on a screen nearby."
Sophomore Rachel Taplinger said she believes public exposure would halt pornography users regardless since "users would look sketchy and creepy."
Privacy can be a tough issue to deal with when it comes to the Internet, which is after all a public domain. "Public domain means that I can't exclude you from using it," said Ming Chow (E '02), an application developer and webmaster in Boston who is currently teaching an ExCollege course called "Security, Privacy and Politics in the Computer Age."
Chow said that the fact that many industries are starting to take ownership of the information presented on their websites adds to the debate. Now, many companies have licenses that require a user to agree to terms stated in the contract before usage.
But knowing that these websites actively track their visitors can create apprehension among Internet users, who are wary of license agreements. "When I have to sign user licenses, it usually makes me look for another website to use," sophomore Alissa Jacob said.
In terms of Internet security, "pornography is ironically at the forefront," Chow said. Realizing that pornography is a subject which attracts millions of people, the pornographic industry is "absolutely vigilant in protecting itself," Chow said. The majority of pornographic websites require visitors to either sign license agreements or pay for access to parts of the website.
Availability of personal information is also a concern. Cases of identity and copyright theft have forced users to consider just how private the internet really is. The convenience of online banking, purchasing, chatting and downloading, however, may lead users to forget that a lot of their activities can be traced.
"The problem with technology is that it hides stuff," said Chow, who finds that viewers are sometimes ignorant of where the personal information they have entered may end up.
"It's scary how easy it is for people to access accounts without us knowing," senior Emily Meyer said.
Jacob agreed. "Sometimes it scares me to think that I don't know where my credit card information is going," she said.
At Tufts, the concept of public versus private domain is debatable. Although many students grasp the communal nature of the Internet, some feel that there is little on-campus Internet privacy.
"People are afraid that Kazaa will track them down and report them to the authorities," freshman Brian Weiss said.
"Tufts doesn't actively look at what students are doing on their computers or what they have on their hard drive," Tufts OnLine Supervisor Judi Rennie said. "The reason students are caught is not because we're looking; it's because the record and movie companies are looking and issuing complaints."
Rennie explained how students sharing copyrighted material can be tracked down: "The music industry association, RIAA, and other groups have commissioned the building of locator bots that systematically scan IP addresses looking to see if any of the common sharing programs are active on a port," she said.
"For example, the bot asks the P2P program whether it has music titles by particular artists," she said. "If the P2P program answers positively, the bot reports the IP address and title back to the copyright holder, who then sends out violation notices. Copyright holders can determine just about all the details of the copyright violation, including the name of the infringing file and the exact time it was traded."
"Students are not generally aware that they give up privacy whenever they use P2P software," Rennie added. "Using P2P is the same as issuing an invitation to the entire Internet to come and look at what's on your hard drive. Add music sharing and students are setting themselves up to very easily break the DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act]."
When it receives these notices, the University is required by the DMCA to obey them. The first time a student is reported for possibly file-sharing copyrighted materials, "we bump them from the network and they attend an informational session," Rennie said.
If a student is reported a second time, his or her Internet access is suspended again, and a letter detailing both incidents is sent to the Dean of Students office. "The Dean's office investigates the issues, and may assign penalties," Rennie said.
Along with the revocation of network privileges for the length of an academic term, "the penalty for the second offense is typically disciplinary probation level one for a period of one year," Rennie said.
If a student becomes a triple-offender, his or her Net access is suspended once more, and the student is placed on disciplinary probation level two for a year - which, Rennie said, "remains on your permanent record."
Rennie encourages students to be familiar with the computer ethics section of the Academic Integrity at Tufts booklet and to utilize the Cdigix subscription service that provides them with free downloads.
Stephanie Christofides contributed to this article.
