Stemming from the previous post about Privacy Settings, the platform needs to conform to various guidelines and policies on Data Protection. The protection of personal data (and especially sensitive personal data) is in large mandated by the Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC), which was subsequently implemented in national legislation of the Member States. In the UK, it was incorporated into the Data Protection Act 1998 – with amendments pending to reflect the newly reformed Directive.

Under the DPA, any organisation, site or provider (data controller) who gathers user information needs to specify and inform the users on what data are being collected, how they are used, who has access to them and long these data are preserved.

Since this project aims to be in close relation to the University and its network, it is necessary to not only adhere to the DPA but also to more specific policies implemented by the University. Namely, the platform will follow the same guidelines specified in the University of Southampton Privacy Policy, the Data Protection Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy. Even in the event that this platform is hosted externally, compliance with these policies will serve in presenting a familiar framework for students while also ensuring quality of content.
Subsequently, the same rules will apply to retention periods and access of third parties to these data. Third parties should be interpreted as not including the University of Southampton and its relevant services in charge of hosting and handling sites, user databases, storage and Internet services. User data will not be disclosed to third parties for any purposes (including advertising or promotion) unless with the explicit consent of the user, or following a legal obligation of the University or the platform.

Content falling outside of the Acceptable Use policy, should be promptly removed by initiative of the poster. Failing to do so will result in their liability. This should protect against offensive, indecent, harassing or illegal material. Any material submitted and its subsequent use (specifically material related to coursework or exams) should also comply with the University’s definition of plagiarism.

All of these obligations will be explicitly stated in the T&C of Service, as well as in prompt reminders before final submission of a post.