1. Victoria Jobling
Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 3.0 Australia

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

3. 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)

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

5. However, you have to abide
by the rules …

6. … and as this service is
provided by Google, you
must follow Google‟s Terms
of Service.
(Google, 2012a)

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

8. It‟s important to remember
that for many of Google‟s
services (e.g. Blogger) you
must have a Google
account.
(Google, 2012a)

9. 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)

10. Who has control and
ownership of my content?
(Image Credit: Free Press Pics, 2012)

11. Google and Blogger will
NOT take responsibility for
the content that users share
online.
(Google, 2012a)

12. YOU are solely responsible
…
(Google Terms of Service, 2012)

13. … and if this content is
yours, then it still belongs to
you and YOU retain
ownership rights.
(Google , 2012a)

14. That‟s cool,
right?
(Image Credit: TheRogue, 2009)

15. 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.)

16. … Google (and the
companies they work with)
have …
(Google, 2012a)

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

18. “for the limited purpose of
operating, promoting and
improving [their] services,
and to develop new ones.”
(Google, 2012a)

19. 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)

20. Are there any
legal issues I
should be
aware of?
(Image Credit: Buckoffive, 2007)

21. Do not post or upload
copyrighted material if you
do not have permission to
use it or have provided
appropriate citation.
(Google, 2012a)

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

23. However, other jurisdictions
may be taken into
consideration when
reporting copyright
infringement.
(Google, 2012c)

24. 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)

25. 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)

26. … 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)

27. 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 )

28. (Image Credit: Monoglot, 2006)

29. Blogger Content Policy

30. Blogger firmly believes in
freedom of expression and
not censoring information,
but there are some content
boundaries.
(Blogger, 2012)

31. What am I not allowed to
post or share?
(Image Credit: Free Press Pics, 2012b)

32. Adult Content is defined by
Blogger as “images or
videos that contain nudity or
sexual activity”.
(Blogger, 2012)

33. It is permitted but …
(Blogger, 2012)

34. … 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)

35. You are not allowed to use
your blog to profit from adult
content.
(Blogger, 2012)

36. No incest or bestiality
content is allowed.
(Blogger, 2012)

37. Blogger also maintains a
“zero tolerance policy
towards content that
exploits children”
(Blogger, 2012)

38. No child pornography or
associated links.
(Blogger, 2012)

39. No paedophilia or “content
that encourages or
promotes sexual attraction
towards children”.
(Blogger, 2012)

40. If a user chooses to post
such material their accounts
will be terminated and the
user will be reported to the
authorities.
(Blogger, 2012)

41. No hate speech is allowed –
i.e. content that “promotes
hate or violence” towards a
particular person or group.
(Blogger, 2012)

42. No crude content – i.e.
sharing shocking or graphic
material without proper
reasoning or context.
(Blogger, 2012)

43. No violence – do not
threaten other people or
encourage others to take
violent action against a
person or group.
(Blogger, 2012)

44. Do not violate copyright –
this also includes providing
links for “readers [to] obtain
unauthorised downloads of
content”.
(Blogger, 2012)

45. Do not post personal or
confidential information of
another person if it is not
publicly available.
(Blogger, 2012)

46. Do not impersonate others
or mislead readers to
believe you are someone
else.
(Blogger, 2012)

47. Do not engage in or
encourage illegal activities.
(Blogger, 2012)

48. Do not upload or link people
to spam.
(Blogger, 2012)

49. Do not attempt to install
malware or viruses without
the reader‟s consent.
(Blogger, 2012)

50. 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)

51. 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.

52. References
 Askpang. (2007). Children and Computer [Image].
Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/askpang/1748588982/in/phot
ostream/
 Bethany Actually. (2007). Paint in Tin [Image]. Retrieved
from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethanygronberg/162102178
9/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/phot
ostream/
 Fireblend. (2010). Keyboard [Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fireblend/4926609037/in/phot
ostream/

53.  Free Press Pics. (2012a). Diversity in Media Ownership
[Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/7419840024/in/photostre
am/
 Free Press Pics. (2012b). Public Media [Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freepress/7419839674/in/photostre
am/
 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&answ
er=1350409
 Google. (2012c). Reported Alleged Copyright Infringement:
Blogger. Retrieved September 9, 2012, from
http://support.google.com/bin/request.py?&product=blogger&co
ntact_type=lr_dmca

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