Hi all,
We had a rather large discussion today on privacy and its application on
Wikipedia (specifically anonymous editing and the checkuser tool which
is the subject of much debate at the moment).
I am curious to whether the Wikimedia Foundation's privacy policy is
compatible with EU legislation on privacy (which is tightly regulated),
and whether it is obliged to be, as the Foundation hosts servers in the
European Union (which are presumably subject to EU law).
I would also like to propose that any person with access to server logs
(which include IP addresses), including people with access to the
checkuser tool, should sign a legal agreement of some sort with the
Wikimedia Foundation concerning non-disclosure of this information.
I am unsure whether or not an IP address qualifies as "personal
information" under EU law and I have contacted the UK Information
Commissioner's Office asking them for their opinion.
Thoughts on the legal agreement proposal, and answers to the question of
legal obligations are much appreciated.
Chris