FERPA, Privacy & Internet Law

Prior to working at Niagara, Stephanie A. Cole practiced in the areas of internet, intellectual property, and media law.  When asked how to summarize such a collection of interests, she would state: "I'm interested in any law that tries to control how people communicate."

Since moving into the field of higher education, this interest has grown.  In higher ed, FERPA, privacy concerns, campus safety issues, and image control rights involving social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace blend with traditional laws concerning "how people communicate," to create a nexus point that touches on students, parents, faculty, and administration alike.

This page is a place for occasional comments, presentations, and ruminations on this new hybrid area of the law, which at least on this page, is called "Higher Ed Expression" law.

July 11, 2008:  The July 2 order in Electra (et al) v. Doe (EDNC) is intriguing.  At this point, many think the playing field for this type of John Doe case is set, with the RIAA's right to subpoena information firmly established.  However, attorney Stephen E. Robinson raises some novel points against the manner in which the subpoenas are obtained, and Judge Flanagan, in her order, seems prepared to consider them, referring the case to the Magistrate for a "fresh look," the RIAA's typical modus operendi.