Policing Online

You Obligations to Help With Police Investigations

Published: Thursday, June 18, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 14:11

Handcuffs Image

Image acquired from morguefile.com (free stock photos)

Your IP address is your digital footprint, and it is increasingly becoming used by law enforcement in their pursuit of cases. Numerous times a year, law enforcement from colleges throughout the country will contact CMN and its newspapers, seeking IP information. 

There's nothing wrong with wanting to cooperate with law enforcement; but first it's important to make sure that your cooperation is legal.

Every college newspaper on CMN (and all commercial newspapers) posts a privacy policy on the types of information they collect, who this information will be shared with, etc.
In order to avoid facing serious legal issues yourself, read the privacy policy carefully and if need be, contact College Media Network should your publication get contacted by the police.

CMN's affiliate relations and legal teams are available to offer guidance and advice for free, since much of your user data is protected and should not be disclosed. Law enforcement officers know they can obtain a subpoena for this information, and you should ask them to before providing any information that could make your newspaper legally vulnerable.

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