Universities differ on implementation of Lex Nokia

Piracy prevention on university networks a major concern

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By Jarno Liski
     
      The Helsinki University of Technology and the Tampere Technical University are planning to implement the new law on protecting electronic communications, also known as Lex Nokia. The institutions are reserving the right to look into the activities of individual users of university data facilities at least in situations in which a user is suspected of violating rules on use of the networks.
      The universities of Turku, Jyväskylä, and Oulu do not see a need for implementing Lex Nokia. The matter is still under consideration at the universities of Tampere and Helsinki.
      No institutions of higher learning have informed the Data Protection Ombudsman of plans to initiate surveillance, nor has any other institution in Finland.
     
The universities do not consider it likely that they will end up snooping into online traffic on the basis of the part of the law that is principally aimed at protecting corporate secrets.
      However, data security officials at the universities say that the paragraph on misuse of a network clarifies the rules somewhat.
      Before the changes were implemented, some universities looked into who might have been distributing illegal material on the network based on the fact that the extra traffic was a hazard to the proper function of the whole net.
      “During the previous law, maintenance had more discretion”, says Mika Kivilompolo, IT Manager at the University of Helsinki. Now, “deeper” investigations would require notification of the Data Protection Ombudsman.
      “Currently we take a very cautious view of activities in which ID information is used to investigate things such as peer-to-peer traffic and its sources here within the university”, says data security expert Juha-Matti Heimonen of the University of Tampere.
     
Peer-to-peer traffic is seen as a problem mainly with respect to the BitTorrent applications for sharing files - mainly copyrighted material.
      “It can become a problem in that it puts a burden on the network. Another problem is the image question: if copyright-protected material starts spreading to the world from the university’s network”, Heimonen says.
     
Many colleagues say that Mats Kammonen, head of data security at the University of Turku, is the most familiar with the impact of the new law. He does not see a need to use user identification information to flush out those who violate the rules.
      “Control, as a starting point, is not a good thing. Of course people need advice and help, but the idea that we would snoop on their behaviour, and impose punishment on that basis, is not really fitting for the home use of a university network, for instance”, Kammonen says.
     
Unauthorised traffic can also be pruned away through various restrictions on transfer of information. The Helsinki University of Tehcnology and the Tampere Technical University do not want restrictions; they want to keep the full bandwidth wide open, but only for permissible traffic.
      “If we try to teach students about sensible types of activities for their working life, we sometimes have to operate so that enforcing rules is not a value as such. So that it is not the idea that we have rules that do not need to be obeyed, because they are not enforced”, adds data security chief Minna Manninen of the Helsinki University of Technology.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 19.6.2009


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen denies knowledge of Nokia threat over privacy legislation (2.2.2009)
  Opponents of Lex Nokia to launch TV advertising campaign on MTV3 (29.1.2009)
  Legal experts say “Lex Nokia” violates constitution (20.11.2008)
  President signs controversial Lex Nokia into law (13.3.2009)
  Lex Nokia furore fuelled further by minister’s strip-search remark (13.2.2009)

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