Online behaviour

What you can and can not do online?

The internet constitutes a public space. You must abide by common ground rules when using the internet – just as you must follow traffic regulations in traffic.

The law applies to the web as well

Even though most laws were written before the proliferation of information networks, these laws apply to the internet as well. Anything that would be illegal in other settings is also illegal online.

The internet enables unforeseen freedom of communication, but along with this freedom comes responsibility. For instance, the creator of a website is always responsible for the legality and content of his or her site.

Copyright

Copyright protects the implementation method of an idea, but not the idea itself. It is permissible to copy material from the internet for your own use, but claiming this material as your own is forbidden. If, for instance, you use some material in your presentation, you must cite the source of this material.

It is illegal to redistribute material that has been illicitly published on the internet (e.g. many of the illegal movies or music files found on p2p networks).

You may not even copy software or databases that require a license for your own use, without paying.

Unauthorised use of material may result in claims for a financial refund and other legal consequences.

Privacy

Remember that once you post information on the web, you may not be able to retrieve it. Always ensure that you know to whom and for what purpose you are providing information. Consider whether it is sensible to post your personal information on your website, since you cannot know for what purpose it will be used.

Note! The names, photographs or other personal information of students that are included in the person register may only be posted on the school website with the permission of the students concerned or their parents.

Further information: If you wish to know in more detail how the internet works and for what purposes it can be used, you should visit the www.tietoturvaopas.fi service.

Updated 05.02.2010