my right (or not?) to computer privacy

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

at work we've just been given copies of the computer guidelines for not sending or receiving material of an offensive or defamatory nature, using the internet or phones on company time, etc etc etc. i have to sign a document in which the sentence "i understand that i have no expectation of privacy" is included, meaning that work can listen in on my phone conversations and read anything in my e mail or personal files.

i'm a bit reluctant to sign this. not that i spend all day mucking about on the internet or have anything dodgy in my hard drive, but even if i did, this "no expectation of privacy" thing really gets my goat. of course i have an expectation of privacy.

do i have a right not to sign this document and if i don't will my company be justified in firing me? (Paul you might be able to help on this, but i'm not sure if i can afford you :))

― katie, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i don't know much about this. as i understand it, if i don't sign the company has no right to look in any of my files. that's a right i'd like to preserve. does it have anything to do with the data protection act? one of my friends recently got fired for having some dodgy attachments in her personal files. can she appeal?

― katie, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Actually, you do have some expectation of privacy in your workplace. They don't follow you to the loo, do they? It's the law. If they sign up people to this agreement AND THEN find it's not legal, they'll be in for more trouble than it's worth in financial and bad-publicity terms.

Check it out, and tell the employer (if applicable) that no one should sign this as it's carelessly worded and could lose the company money and prestige in the long run. Ask them to revise the document to one employees would be comfortable signing.

― suzy, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think this is where i usually say "contact your union official" isn't it? Also I'm sure the human rights act would have something to say about it...

Ooh, how about troubleatwork.org that might help :)

― carsmilesteve, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I just had to rescue some data from a company computer for a friend who left New York in a hurry after the events of last week. She asked me to copy her personal folder from a laptop in reception then trash the folder, which contained private documents, a friend's filmscript, etc.

When I got to the company they wouldn't let me copy the data, instead saying they'd e mail it to my friend direct. They also said they wouldn't trash the files. 'Anything which is on this computer hard disk is company property,' they said.

― Momus, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

At where I work in UCI, the presumption is that stuff can be read at any time, but realistically speaking this is more in the 'systems will snoop if they're bored' sense, which I entirely believe to be a possibility. Given the range of librarians and their interests at my locale, and given some of the, in mainstream eyes, 'adventurous' sites they visit and all, frankly I don't care, simply because everybody could probably blackmail everybody else. So I just post to the boards like always, answer e-mail, write record reviews...

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Depends what country your in. In Canada, if you sign it they can do it. If you dont sign it they can't fire you directly for that action, of course a good lawyer can get around anything. There is all sorts of great items about video taping, even for security purposes, reading emails, packet sniffing etc. Canada's privacy act is in sad state right now as it doesnt deal with the internet too well, and it doesnt come into play very often as it deals with the government's role in staying out of people's way and not company-employee relationships. Might try telling them your willing to sign something a little less strongly worded. A new contract was going around my workplace this summer as we were bought out. The part where we 'could' be fired for inappropriate personal use of email got up a lot of people's shorts. Our current management wouldn't use that clause but that was no comfort for most people and management did eventually bring everyone online with a weaker statement that made more sense.

― Mr Noodles, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

management did eventually bring everyone online

Nice Freudian slip there, I presume you meant a combination of 'bring everyone onboard' or 'bring everyone into line'? At any rate, your phrase neatly summarises a view of the internet as a kind of negotiated consensus.

Next time I get angry with someone who's disagreeing with me, I'm going to shout the ultimate threat: 'Why, I'm going to bring you online on this one, you bastard!'

― Momus, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Anything which is on this computer hard disk is company property,' they said.

the actual reason this whole situation came about was because management suspected some people of misusing company resources and basically snuck a look at their inboxes while they were out at lunch. there was quite a fuss over this.

nice to know i'm not the only one in this metaphorical boat. thanks for all helping me with this - what i think i might do is just re- word it myeslf and hand a signed copy of that in. can't say fairer than that eh??

― katie, Saturday, 22 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

As a freelancer working on a company hard- disc, my position is pretty complicated: my previous boss said I could do what i liked; my current boss — who is under much more pressure — says that if it was up to her I could do what I liked, but the Director thinks very differently. However both the Director and the Head of Human Resources are idiots when it comes to matters IT, whereas the IT guy is my fwend. If I lost my job and had to leave the building immediately, they couldn't bring the magazine out, simple as that: all systems flow though me and only I know em.

I assume my emails MAY be read, but volume of traffic keeps em safe except in fraught times. My openly stated commonsense rule is: EAVESDROPPERS ONLY HEAR ILL OF THEMSELVES.

― mark s, Sunday, 23 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal for your company to do this. It would be bad for them if they didn't get you to sign and then started snooping, but once you've signed it they can do whatever you want with e-mails you write on company time, on company computers.

It's a big deal, too. You don't *have* to sign the form consenting to being snooped on, but if you don't sign it's like an admission that you play about on the internet all day. It's like opting out of the Working Time Directive. You don't *have* to opt out of it but if you don't you generally get scorned by your employer.

So, you have a right not to sign the document, and they certainly can't fire you if you don't sign it. That said, they might be very suspicious of you afterwards.

Call me if you need more info - I do lots of work on this sort of thing.

― Paul Strange, Sunday, 23 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In the traditional routine of the school district, I have no rights unless someone's parents' lawyer takes the school to court. Last year the school switched from letting everyone log on using the number of the room they were in (or a number of a room they weren't in, it did't really matter) to giving everyone private accounts using names and passwords. It is supposed to be easier because students will be able to save onto any computer, but it also makes it much easier to check up on what specific students are doing. I do not use the Internet for any reason but required research and I never save anything to a school computer ever.

― Maria, Sunday, 23 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

response from troubleatwork.org (gawd bless 'em)

In this case the person needs to clarify whether the employers are changing or adding contract conditions or issuing a specific statement within existing terms.
Please see the information on changes to contracts on our website. For additional information on contracts being changed without consultatio or agreement please see the ACAS website www.acas.org.uk
The existence of the document you mention is likely to indicate the intention the employer to monitor use of its mail/internet facility while keeping within the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights. The term “expectation of privacy” is one often used in legal commentaries on the subject. A concerned employee should check whether signing this document indicates agreement to a change or confirmation that the employer has notified its intentions.
It is not possible to give specific advice on the basis of a quote from this document. Taking the document to the Citizens Advice Bureau may a useful starting point for advice on the position of an employee.

hope this helps katie :)

― carsmilesteve, Wednesday, 26 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If you have deleted temporary internet files, etc... is there any way the people at my office can figure out what I do on the internet. I don't believe I have done a single piece of work in three months.

― hans, Wednesday, 26 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.