[IAEP] Sugar network / School Network

[Chris Leonard]

On Tue, May 17, 2016 at 12:52 PM, Dave Crossland <dave at lab6.com> wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Thanks for the lengthy explanation :) I think I understand your position
> better now :)
>
> On 17 May 2016 at 12:14, Chris Leonard <cjlhomeaddress at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> any form of human subjects research
>
>
> Is https://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/statistics/ "human subjects
> research"?

In the legal sense, it is whatever a court of competent jurisdiction
determines it to be.  In general, our basic web-stats do not appear to
have the characteristics one typically associates with human subjects
research, some characteristics, like aggregation, anonymization, etc.
are in fact steps taken to deliberately place certain research
activities outside of the scope of human subjects protections (like
requirements for institutional review board approval, etc.).

If you start drilling down to collecting IP numbers (say for
geo-location) and other bits of data that *might* be mapped (alone or
in combination with any other information sitting around) to the
identifiable user level, you are getting into much deeper water.

Even if you can figure out a way to accomplish your goals in
compliance with the law, you should also ask yourself 'How would this
look from the point of view of the fairly stringent privacy
expectations held by the people that Sugar Labs aligns itself in the
world of FOSS".  While generally not a matter of legal consequence, we
do operate in an ecosystem where we are very dependent of people and
organizations who take a dim view of anything that could be construed
as "snooping", and that should probably be taken into account.

>>
>> One should never read the CFR and
>> make a determination that it "does not apply to me" without consulting
>> with a lawyer.  That way lies madness as well as potential fines and
>> imprisonment.
>
>
> Has anyone involved with Sugar Labs consulted with any lawyers on any legal
> topics?
>
> As a Sugar Labs Member, how do I consult with a lawyer?

In general, the same way any one else would, a) get the yellow pages
b) turn to the "L" section, then back to the "A" section because
lawyers are listed as attorneys. . .  etc., etc.  You seem to be
proposing a personal activity, not one undertaken collectively by the
corporate Sugar Labs entity, so knock yourself out and be careful,
lawyers are expensive, but in some cases not as expensive as not
having one.

Our fiscal sponsorship agreement with the SFC provides for some
specific cases where the SFC might provide legal assistance, but I'm
not really sure if this is one of them.  You could ask the SLOB to
communicate on your behalf with the SFC to see if this is an area
where they can provide any advice.

cjl