Law and Policy Working Group: Ask a Legal Question
Do you have questions about laws or policies relevant to your citizen science project? If so, follow the link below to be redirected to a question submission form on an external site.
The Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School has volunteered to make its students available to answer questions about relevant laws and policies raised by citizen science projects. Please use the form linked below to submit your questions about laws and policies relevant to (a) the collection of citizen science data or (b) the use of citizen science data by agencies or courts.
The Clinic intends to have teams of students review questions approximately once a month during the academic year. The Clinic cannot guarantee that it will be able to answer every question. Whether it answers them, and if so how quickly, depends upon the number of questions it receives and student availability. Your questions and your patience are appreciated.
Disclaimer:
CSA and CSA’s Law & Policy Working Group cannot provide legal advice or any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies. This site is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship, and by using the linked form no attorney-client relationship will be created. Clinic students are not practicing attorneys. By answering questions, Clinic students are not providing legal advice, acting as your attorney, or serving as a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Their answers to submitted questions do not create an attorney-client relationship or a commitment to answer additional questions. Communications between you and the Clinic’s students are not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine.
Questions and Answers
The questions below were submitted through the question submission form above. The Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School has volunteered to make its students available to answer questions about relevant laws and policies raised by citizen science projects. We will periodically post answers to submitted questions on this page.
The answers below are provided for educational purposes only. Clinic students are not practicing attorneys. By answering questions, Clinic students are not providing legal advice, acting as your attorney, or serving as a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Their answers to submitted questions do not create an attorney-client relationship or a commitment to answer additional questions. Communications between individuals using the question submission form and the Clinic’s students are not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. Readers should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.
CSA and CSA’s Law & Policy Working Group cannot provide legal advice or any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.
1. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and Citizen Science (Nov. 2019).
2. Legal Issues with Automatic Trail Cameras (Nov. 2019)
3. Legal Issues with Photography by Kites and Balloons (Nov. 2019).
4. Tort Claims against Citizen Scientists (Feb. 2020).
5. Quality Assurance Project Plans (Feb. 2020).
6. Defamation Claims against Citizen Scientists (Feb. 2020).