GOVERNMENT OF ST. VINCENT AND GRENADINES

ELECTRONIC MAIL POLICY

Friday, July 09, 2004

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

II. APPLICATION OF OTHER POLICIES

III. SCOPE

IV. SPECIFIC USE PROVISIONS

V. MISUSE

VI. PERSONAL USE

VII. CONFIDENTIALITY

VIII, SECURITY AND PRESERVATION

IX. VIOLATIONS

X. ON-LINE POLICIES

APPENDIX A - GENERAL USE CAUTIONS

APPENDIX B - MODEL INFORMATIONAL HANDOUT REGARDING GOVERNMENT E-MAIL POLICY

I. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

A. This Policy clarifies the applicability of law and of other Government polies to electronic mail (e-mail), and also sets forth new policies uniquely applicable to e-mail.

B. The Government of SVG recognizes that freedom of speech, privacy and confidentiality hold important implications for e-mail and e-mail services. This Policy addresses these principles within the context of and subject to the limitations imposed by the Government legal and policy obligations.

1        The purpose of this Policy is to assure that:

1. E-mail will be used by the Civil Service community in an ethical and considerate manner in compliance with applicable law and policies, including policies established by the Government and its operating units, and with respect for the public trust through which these facilities have been provided;

2. E-mail users are informed about how concepts of privacy and security apply to e-mail, as well as the applicability of relevant policy and law;

3. Disruptions to Government e-mail and other services and activities are minimized.

 

II. APPLICATION OF OTHER POLICIES

A. All policies applied generally at the Government are expressly applicable to the electronic environment. Relevant institutional policies include, but are not limited to:

1. Staff Personnel Policy Manual

2. Confidentiality of Government Records

3. Sexual Harassment Policy

4. Outside Professional Activity

o  Conflict of Interest and Commitment

o  Copyrights and Patents

5. Use of Government name or Trademarks

B. This is not a comprehensive list of applicable Government policies. Any policy which applies to the use of Government resources, including equipment and time, also applies to e-mail. In the event of a conflict between policies, the more restrictive use policy shall govern.

 

III. SCOPE

A. This Policy applies to:

1. All e-mail services provided or owned by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines;

2. All users and holders of Government e-mail systems or accounts, regardless of intended use; and

3. All Government e-mail Official Records and/or Public Records in the possession of or generated by Government employees and other users of e-mail services provided by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, regardless whether the records were generated on Government or non-Government computers.

B. This Policy does not apply to:

1. Internet services other than e-mail;

2. Voice Mail;

3. Audio and Video Conferencing; and

4. Facsimile messages.

C. This Policy applies equally to transmission and receipt data including e-mail headers, summaries, and addresses associated with e-mail records and attached files or text.

 

IV. SPECIFIC USE PROVISIONS

A. Government Property. E-mail services are extended for the sole use of Government employees and other appropriately authorized users to accomplish tasks related to and consistent with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines mission. Government e-mail systems and services are Government facilities, resources and property as those terms are used in Government policies and applicable law. Any e-mail address or account assigned by the Government to individuals, sub-units, or functions of the Government, is the property of the Government.

 

B. Authorized Service Restrictions.

1. E-mail users are required to comply with the laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Government policies, and normal standards of professional and personal courtesy and conduct. Access to Government e-mail services is a privilege that may be wholly or partially restricted by the Government without prior notice and without the consent of the e-mail user: a) when required by and consistent with applicable law or policy; b) when there is a reasonable suspicion that violations of policy or law have occurred or may occur; or c) when required to meet time-dependent, critical operational needs. Such access restrictions are subject to the approval of the appropriate Government supervisory or management authority (e.g. Cabinet, systems managers, etc.). The autonomous operational units of the Government should establish or identify these authority levels.

2. Government operational units may define additional "Conditions of Appropriate Use" for local computing and network facilities to supplement this Policy with additional detail, guidelines or restrictions. Such Conditions must be consistent with and subordinate to this Policy, and are intended to deal primarily with situations of limited resource supply.

3. When an individual's affiliation with the Government ends, the Government may attempt to redirect e-mail for a reasonable period of time as determined by the Government for purposes consistent with this Policy and the Government mission. The Government may elect to terminate the individual's e-mail account or continue the account, subject to approval by appropriate Government supervisory and systems operational authority.

 

C. Authorized Access and Disclosure.

1. The Government may permit the inspection, monitoring, or disclosure of e-mail when:

a. Required by or consistent with applicable law or policy such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines Electronic Evidence Act. 

b. There is a reasonable suspicion that violations of law or Government policy have occurred or may occur;

c. There are time-dependent, critical operational needs of Government business if the Government determines that the information sought is not more readily available by other means.

2. In such instances, the Government will, as a courtesy, normally try to inform e-mail users prior to any inspection, monitoring, or disclosure of e-mail records, except when such notification would be detrimental to an investigation of possible violation of law or Government policy. Users are required to comply with Government requests for access to and copies of e-mail records when access or disclosure is required or allowed by applicable law or policy, regardless whether such records reside on a computer housed or owned by the Government. Failure to comply with such requests can lead to disciplinary or other legal action pursuant to applicable law or policy, including but not limited to appropriate Government personnel policies or Codes of Conduct.

 

D. Indemnification of the Government.

Users agree by virtue of access to the Government's computing and e-mail systems, to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Government for any suits, claims, losses, expenses or damages, including but not limited to litigation costs and attorney's fees, arising from or related to the user's access to or use of Government e-mail and computing systems, services and facilities.

 

V. MISUSE

A. Using e-mail for illegal activities is strictly prohibited. Illegal use may include, but is not limited to: obscenity; child pornography; threats; harassment; theft; attempting unauthorized access to data or attempting to breach any security measures on any electronic communications system; attempting to intercept any electronic communication transmissions without proper authority; and violation of copyright, trademark or defamation law.

B. Failure to follow the law with regard to the disposition of e-mail records may lead to criminal charges. Theft or unauthorized destruction, mutilation, defacement, alteration, falsification, removal or secretion of e-mail records. 

C. In addition to illegal activities, the following e-mail practices are expressly prohibited: entry, examination, use, transfer, and tampering with the accounts and files of others, unless appropriately authorized pursuant to this policy; altering e-mail system software or hardware configurations; or interfering with the work of others or with Government or other computing facilities.

D. If a user has been requested by another user via e-mail or in writing to refrain from sending e-mail messages, the recipient is prohibited from sending that user any further e-mail messages until such time as he/she has been notified by the system administrator that such correspondence is permissible. Failure to honor such a request shall be deemed a violation of this Policy.

E. Government e-mail services may not be used for: commercial activities not approved by appropriate supervisory Government personnel consistent with applicable policy; personal financial gain (except as permitted under applicable policies); personal use inconsistent with Section VI of this policy; uses that violate other Government policies or guidelines; or uses inconsistent with applicable laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Applicable Government policies include, but are not limited to, policies and guidelines regarding personnel, intellectual property, or regarding sexual or other forms of harassment.

F. E-mail users shall not give the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements of behalf of the Government or any unit of the Government unless expressly authorized to do so. Where appropriate, the following explicit disclaimer shall be included: "The opinions or statements expressed herein are my own and should not be taken as a position, opinion, or endorsement of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines."

G. Government e-mail services shall not be used for purposes that could reasonably be expected to cause, directly, or indirectly, strain on any computing facilities, or interference with others' use of e-mail or e-mail systems. Such uses include, but are not limited to, the use of e-mail services to:

1. Send or forward chain letters.

2. "Spam", that is, to exploit listservs or similar systems for the widespread distribution of unsolicited mail.

3. "Letter-bomb", that is, to resend the same e-mail repeatedly to one or more recipients.

VI. PERSONAL USE

Government e-mail services may be used for incidental personal purposes provided that such use does not:

A. Directly or indirectly interfere with the Government operation of computing facilities or e-mail services.

B. Interfere with the e-mail user's employment or other obligations to the Government.

C. Violate this Policy, or any other applicable policy or law, including but not limited to use for personal gain, conflict of interest, harassment, defamation, copyright violation or illegal activities.

D. E-mail messages arising from such personal use shall, however, be subject to access consistent with this policy or applicable law. Accordingly, such use does not carry with it a reasonable expectation of privacy.

VII. CONFIDENTIALITY

A. The confidentiality of e-mail cannot be assured, and any confidentiality may be compromised by access consistent with applicable law or policy, including this Policy, by unintended redistribution, or due to current technologies inadequate to protect against unauthorized access. Users, therefore, should exercise extreme caution in using e-mail to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that their e-mail is private or confidential.

B. Users may not access, use, or disclose personal or confidential information without appropriate authorization, and must take necessary precautions to protect confidentiality of personal or confidential information, regardless whether the information is maintained on paper or whether it is found in e-mail or other electronic records.

 

VIII. SECURITY AND PRESERVATION

A. E-mail users and operators must follow sound professional practices in providing for the security of e-mail records, data, applications programs, and systems programs under their jurisdiction.

B. Users and operators must guard against storage media deterioration and e-mail record inaccessibility due to hardware or software obsolescence. To eliminate these situations, users must make provision for future accessibility by:

1. Migrating all official e-mail records to the next generation of hardware or software; or

2. Migrating only current official e-mail records to new hardware or software, or converting official e-mail records not migrated to other media (e.g., optical disk, COM) for short term storage or to "eye readable form" (i.e., paper or microfilm) for long term storage and preservation.

C. Users are responsible for safeguarding their identification (ID) codes and passwords, and for using them only as authorized. Each user is responsible for all e-mail transactions made under the authorization of his or her ID, and for all network e-mail activity originating from his or her data jack. Use of e-mail user identifications for commercial purposes is prohibited. Access to user identifications may not be loaned or sold.

D. Each operational unit should establish:

1. Standards for official e-mail records identification and file organization.

2. Measures for protecting sensitive official e-mail stored electronically.

3. Procedures for file back-up.

 

IX. VIOLATIONS

Suspected or known violations of policy or law should be confidentially reported to the appropriate supervisory level for the operational unit in which the violation occurs. Violations will be processed by the appropriate Government authorities and/or law enforcement agencies. Violations may result in revocation of e-mail service privileges; staff disciplinary action up to and including dismissal; referral to law enforcement agencies; or other legal action.

X. ON-LINE POLICIES

Users of this Policy are encouraged to refer to on-line versions of this and other Government policies when available on the Government home page on the World Wide Web.

 

APPENDIX A

GENERAL USE CAUTIONS

Users should be aware of the following:

A. Both the nature of e-mail and the public character of the Government business make e-mail less private than users may anticipate. For example, e-mail intended for one person sometimes may be widely distributed because of the ease with which recipients can forward it to others. A reply to an e-mail message posted on an electronic bulletin board or "listserver" intended only for the originator of the message may be distributed to all subscribers to the listserv. Furthermore, even after a user deletes an e-mail record from a computer or e-mail account it may persist in whole or in part in system logs, in the directories of the person who received the message, or on system back-up tapes which may be retained for long periods of time. All these items may be subject to disclosure under applicable law and this Policy. The Government cannot routinely protect users against such eventualities.

B. E-mail, regardless whether created, received, or stored on Government equipment, may constitute an "Official Record" may be a "Public Record" subject to disclosure or access under other laws or as a result of litigation.

C. The Government does not automatically comply with all requests for disclosure, but attempts to evaluate such requests against the precise provisions of the Public Records Law or other applicable law concerning disclosure and privacy.

D. The Government, in general, cannot and does not wish to be the arbiter of the contents of e-mail. Neither can the Government, in general, protect users from receiving e-mail they may find offensive. Members of the Government community, however, are strongly urged to use the same personal and professional courtesies and considerations in e-mail as they would in other forms of communication, and particularly those applicable to written communications since e-mail creates a tangible record of that communication.

E. There is no guarantee, unless "authenticated" mail systems are in use, that e-mail received was in fact sent by the purported sender, since it is relatively easy, although a violation of this Policy, for senders to disguise their identity. Furthermore, e-mail that is forwarded may also be modified. Authentication technology is not widely and systematically in use at the Government as of the date of this Policy. As with print documents, in case of doubt, receivers of e-mail messages should check with the purported sender to validate authorship or authenticity.

F. Encryption of e-mail is another emerging technology that is not in widespread use as of the date of this Policy. This technology permits the encoding of e-mail so that for all practical purposes it cannot be read by anyone who does not possess the right key.

G. Inappropriate e-mail use may expose the Government and individual users to claims for damages through copyright infringement, libel, breach of privacy or other personal or proprietary rights.

H. St. Vincent and the Grenadines laws and Government policies regarding copyright and intellectual property apply to e-mail. Do not violate the copyright of others. Unless the material is legally established as being in the public domain or unless there is explicit release by the copyright owner, you may not copy e-mail information. Under ABOR rules or copyright law, you may or may not have copyright in e-mail material which you create. Check with the appropriate authority before assuming that you have copyright in such material.

I. Even though an e-mail sender and recipient have deleted their e-mail, back-up copies may exist for periods of time and in locations unknown to the originator or recipient. These copies may be accessed or disclosed consistent with applicable policy or law.

 

APPENDIX B

MODEL INFORMATIONAL HANDOUT

REGARGING GOVERNMENT E-MAIL POLICY

Date: July 09, 2004

TO: All staff

FR: PS Ministry of Telecommunications

RE: What You Need to Know About the Government New E-Mail Policy

The Government has released a document to clarify the applicability of law and of other Government policies to electronic mail (e-mail). Its title is: Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Electronic Mail Policy. Shown below is a simplified and abbreviated version of the overall policy which identifies the basic information of which e-mail users should be aware. The full text of the policy is available through the Government's Records Management.  Hard copy versions of the full policy text can be obtained from the Public Service Commissions Department.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO (Storage of E-mail Documents)

Government business documents created or received on e-mail must be saved for the same length of time as their hard copy equivalents. There are two ways to comply with this:

1        Create a folder in your e-mail account in which you save these messages. Back up your files appropriately; do not delete these messages. Save the e-mail message to your PC's hard disk as a file; or

2        Print out a paper copy and save it in an appropriate file. In this case you do not need to save an electronic copy.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The following are points from the Government's Electronic Mail Policy. Each point is referenced for your convenience (by italics) to its corresponding section in the policy document.

Provision of Service.

1        E-mail services may be provided by Government organizational units in support of the Government's  mission.

Government Property

1        E-mail services are extended for the sole use of Government staff and other appropriately authorized users to accomplish tasks related to and consistent with the Government mission.

2        Government e-mail systems and services are Government facilities, property and resources as those terms are used in Government policies and applicable law.

3        Any e-mail address or account assigned by the Government to individuals, subunits, or functions of the Government, is the property of the Government.

Authorized Service Restrictions

1        E-mail users are required to comply with the law, Government policies, and normal standards of professional and personal courtesy and conduct.

2        Access to Government e-mail services is a privilege that may be wholly or partially restricted by the Government without prior notice and without the consent of the e-mail user: a) when required by and consistent with applicable law or policy; b) when there is a reasonable suspicion that violations of policy or law have occurred or may occur; or c) when required to meet time-dependent, critical operational needs. Such access restrictions are subject to the approval of the appropriate Government supervisory or management authority (e.g., department heads, systems managers, etc.). The autonomous operational units of the Government should establish or identify these authority levels.

Authorized Access and Disclosure

1        The Government may permit the inspection, monitoring, or disclosure of e-mail in certain circumstances.

2        Users are required to comply with Government requests for access to and copies of Government e-mail records when access or disclosure is required or allowed by applicable law or policy, regardless of whether such records reside on a computer housed or owned by the Government. Failure to comply with such requests can lead to disciplinary or other legal action pursuant to applicable law or policy, including but not limited to appropriate Government personnel policies or Codes of Conduct.

Misuse

1        Using e-mail for illegal activities in strictly prohibited.

2        Failure to follow the law with regard to the disposition of mail records can lead to criminal charges.

3        Government e-mail services may not be used for commercial activities not approved by the appropriate supervisory Government personnel consistent with applicable policy.

4        Applicable Government policies include, but are not limited to, those policies and guidelines regarding personnel, intellectual property, or those regarding sexual or other forms of harassment.

5        E-mail users shall not give the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements on behalf of the Government or any unit of the Government unless expressly authorized to do so.

Personal Use

1        Government e-mail services may be used for incidental personal purposes provided that such use does not: a) directly or indirectly interfere with the Government operation of computing facilities or e-mail services; b) interfere with the e-mail users' employment or other obligations to the Government; c) violate this Policy, or any other applicable policy or law, including but not limited to use for personal gain, conflict of interest or commitment, harassment, defamation, copyright violation or illegal activities.

Confidentiality

1        The confidentiality of e-mail cannot be assured, and such confidentiality may be compromised by access consistent with applicable law or policy, including this Policy, by unintended redistribution, or due to current technologies inadequate to protect against unauthorized access. Users, therefore, should exercise extreme caution in using e-mail to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that their e-mail is private or confidential.

2        Users may not access, use, or disclose personal or confidential information without appropriate authorization, and must take necessary precautions to protect confidentiality of personal or confidential information encountered in the performance of their duties or otherwise.

Security and Preservation

1        E-mail to users and operators must follow sound professional practices in providing for the security of e-mail records, data, applications programs, and systems programs under their jurisdiction.

2        Users and operators must guard against storage media deterioration and rapid technological changes which render e-mail records inaccessible due to hardware or software obsolescence.

3        Users are responsible for safeguarding their identification (ID) codes and passwords, and for using them only as authorized.

Violations

1        Suspected or known violations of policy or law should be confidentially reported to the appropriate supervisory level for the operational unit in which the violation occurs.

General Use Cautions

1        The ability of a recipient to forward a message, or accidentally respond to a listserv rather than an individual, may broadcast an e-mail message widely.

2        Remember that there is no way to guarantee that the purported sender of an e-mail message was in fact the real sender of the message. It is relatively easy to disguise an electronic identity.

3        Printed e-mail Official Records should follow the hard-copy record retention and disposition schedules.

4        Public Records are much more broadly defined than Official Records and may be considered to include, in certain circumstances, any information including all e-mail produced or received on Government provided systems. Public Records, including e-mail, may be subject to disclosure under the public records law; or other applicable law, including by subpoena.

5        Do comply with all laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

6        Do follow the normal standards of professional courtesy and conduct.

7        Do follow the Official Records Retention and Disposition policies and schedules.

8        Do respect copyright, proprietary rights, privacy laws.

YOU MAY NOT:

1        Access, read, use, transfer or tamper with accounts or files that you are not authorized to use.

2        Alter system software or hardware configurations without authorization.

3        Libel or otherwise defame others via e-mail.

4        Participate in illegal activities such as making threats, harassment, theft, breaching security measures, or violating other applicable law or policy.

5        Engage in commercial activities not approved by the appropriate authority.

6        Engage in activities for personal financial gain except as permitted under applicable academic policies.

7        Violate Government policies and guidelines.

8        Send or forward chain letters, letter-bombs or spam.