net303 blogger policy primer

BLOGGER POLICY PRIMER: TERMS OF

SERVICE & CONTENT POLICY

Victoria Jobling

Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia

Blogger is a free blogging service that is provided by Google.(Blogger, 2012; Google, 2012a)

A blog is a personal space in which users are able to express themselves creatively and exercise their right to free speech.(Blogger, 2012; Image Credit: Maryntbol, 2012)

Users are free to share their thoughts, opinions, images, art or whatever takes their fancy. (Blogger, 2012; Image Credit: Bethany Actually, 2007)

However, you have to abide by the rules …

… and as this service is provided by Google, you must follow Google’s Terms of Service.

(Google, 2012a)

Are there any age requirements when creating a Google account?(Image Credit: Askpang, 2007)

It’s important to remember that for many of Google’s services (e.g. Blogger) you must have a Google account.

(Google, 2012a)

And to have an account, there is an age requirement that varies between countries:

Spain: 14 or older South Korea: 14 or older Netherlands: 16 or older All other countries (including US): 13 or

older

(Google, 2012b)

Who has control and ownership of my content?

(Image Credit: Free Press Pics, 2012)

Google and Blogger will NOT take responsibility for the content that users share online.

(Google, 2012a)

YOU are solely responsible …

(Google Terms of Service, 2012)

… and if this content is yours, then it still belongs to you and YOU retain ownership rights.

(Google , 2012a)

That’s cool, right?

(Image Credit: TheRogue, 2009)

Just remember, that by agreeing to the terms of service you are allowing Google to freely use your content for “all their existing and future services” in which …(Google, 2012a; Terms of Service; Didn’t Read, n.d.)

… Google (and the companies they work with) have …

(Google, 2012a)

“a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works […], communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute” your content …(Google, 2012a)

“for the limited purpose of operating, promoting and improving [their] services, and to develop new ones.”

(Google, 2012a)

By the way, if at any time you decide to no longer use Google or Blogger, they are still allowed to use your content in the previously mentioned license.(Google, 2012a)

Are there any legal issues I should be aware of?

(Image Credit: Buckoffive, 2007)

Do not post or upload copyrighted material if you do not have permission to use it or have provided appropriate citation.

(Google, 2012a)

Copyright infringement is a serious issue and Google abides by the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.(Google, 2012a; Image Credit: Fireblend, 2010)

However, other jurisdictions may be taken into consideration when reporting copyright infringement.

(Google, 2012c)

Google may respond in the following ways: “Removing or disabling access” to the

infringing content Notifying the person responsible Terminating access to the user’s

account (especially if they are a repeat offender)

(Google, 2012c)

If legal issues do arise at some point and your country provides “certain warranties, like the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement” then …(Google, 2012a)

… be aware that Google and Blogger will exclude these warranties (when permitted by the law) and all legal issues will be under Californian law in the U.S.A.(Google, 2012a)

This may make appear Google unfairly bias and could cause issues if your respective country differs in policy to California.

(Rustad, Buckingham, D’Angelo, & Durlacher, 2012, p.3 )

(Image Credit: Monoglot, 2006)

Blogger Content Policy

Blogger firmly believes in freedom of expression and not censoring information, but there are some content boundaries.

(Blogger, 2012)

What am I not allowed to post or share?

(Image Credit: Free Press Pics, 2012b)

Adult Content is defined by Blogger as “images or videos that contain nudity or sexual activity”.

(Blogger, 2012)

It is permitted but …

(Blogger, 2012)

… users need to mark it as such and know that if they do not comply it will be put behind a ‘mature content’ wall.

(Blogger, 2012)

You are not allowed to use your blog to profit from adult content.

(Blogger, 2012)

No incest or bestiality content is allowed.

(Blogger, 2012)

Blogger also maintains a “zero tolerance policy towards content that exploits children”

(Blogger, 2012)

No child pornography or associated links.

(Blogger, 2012)

No paedophilia or “content that encourages or promotes sexual attraction towards children”.

(Blogger, 2012)

If a user chooses to post such material their accounts will be terminated and the user will be reported to the authorities.

(Blogger, 2012)

No hate speech is allowed – i.e. content that “promotes hate or violence” towards a particular person or group.

(Blogger, 2012)

No crude content – i.e. sharing shocking or graphic material without proper reasoning or context.

(Blogger, 2012)

No violence – do not threaten other people or encourage others to take violent action against a person or group.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not violate copyright – this also includes providing links for “readers [to] obtain unauthorised downloads of content”.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not post personal or confidential information of another person if it is not publicly available.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not impersonate others or mislead readers to believe you are someone else.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not engage in or encourage illegal activities.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not upload or link people to spam.

(Blogger, 2012)

Do not attempt to install malware or viruses without the reader’s consent.

(Blogger, 2012)

If you find a blog that does violate any of these rules you can report them to Blogger via either the ‘flag’ on the toolbar or through a form.(Blogger, 2012)

This summary does not cover Google’s Privacy Policy and it is highly recommended that each individual reads thoroughly through the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Content Policy before using any of these services.

References Askpang. (2007). Children and Computer [Image]. Retrieved

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/askpang/1748588982/in/photostream/

Bethany Actually. (2007). Paint in Tin [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethanygronberg/1621021789/in/photostream/

Blogger. (2012). Blogger Content Policy. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://www.blogger.com/content.g

Buckoffive. (2007). Handcuffs [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/buckofive/429319452/in/photostream/

Fireblend. (2010). Keyboard [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/fireblend/4926609037/in/photostream/

Free Press Pics. (2012a). Diversity in Media Ownership [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/7419840024/in/photostream/

Free Press Pics. (2012b). Public Media [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/7419839674/in/photostream/

Google. (2012a). Google Terms of Service. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/policies/terms/regional.html

Google. (2012b). Age Requirements on Google Accounts. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1350409

Google. (2012c). Reported Alleged Copyright Infringement: Blogger. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://support.google.com/bin/request.py?&product=blogger&contact_type=lr_dmca

Maryntbol. (2012). Use Your Own Voice [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/marynbtol/6984398413/in/photostream/

Monoglot. (2006). Silly Graffiti [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoglot/216618501/

Rustad, M.L., Buckingham, R., D’Angelo, D., & Durlacher, K. (2012). An Empirical Study of Predispute Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Social Media Terms of Service Agreements. University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review, Forthcoming Suffolk University Law School Research Paper No. 12-18. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2043199

Terms of Service; Didn’t Read. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2012, from http://tos-dr.info/

TheRogue. (2009). Thumbs Up [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/therogue/3422550639/in/photostream/