Privacy & The Workplace

The expectation of privacy is a right that all citizens share. And yet, as we advance down the road to technology that is integrated into our daily lives, that expectation will be tested constantly as both citizens and corporations struggle to define where the line in the sand is drawn. Naturally, this will also be tested in the legal system as lawyers on both sides of the line attempt to legally define those same limits.

However, I do believe that in some cases, a good dose of common sense can make things a lot easier.

For example, a recent article I read falls into the "what-were-they-thinking" category of common sense.

In essence, a police officer who sent an excessive number of text messages from a two-way pager owned and paid for by the police department sued the department when they found that many of his messages were personal and that a majority of the messages were sexually explicit in nature and were being sent to his wife and (dramatic pause) his mistress, both of whom worked for the department as well.

The case made it to the Supreme Court, where they voted unanimously that government employers had “the right to review all communications on company-issued computers and cell phones as long as there is a legitimate work-related purpose.”

I don’t see a problem with this.

It’s one thing if I’m using my personal cell phone, which I pay the bill for, and my employer demands to see who I’ve been calling. It’s my phone. I pay it. They have no right to see who I call or for how long or even my iPod playlist.

But I don’t own the computer that’s on my desk. I don’t pay the bill on the company-issued pager. So with those items, there’s a certain expectation from the company that I (as the employee) will use those items in a responsible manner. In fact, when I sign on my computer, there’s a message that pops up before I log in that states, in essence, that by logging in, I am agreeing to use the equipment in a responsible manner and that on it is subject to inspection.

My daughter is on my cell phone plan. She knows that as I expect her to use the phone responsibly. She also knows that I have the right to inspect her phone at any time for any reason. This is also why the home computer is in the living room, so that I can see what my kids are looking at whenever I feel the need. I’m blessed to have great children, so I rarely invoke this, but I have done it in the past just to remind them that it’s there.

When they become adults and pay for their own cell phones, my right to see what they do ends. It’s their bill at that point, so what right would I have to know what they do? That’s right, none!

I expect no less from my employer. They sign the checks and pay the bills. Thus, they have to right to know what the kids are doing with their stuff.

So, if I want to be a bad boy, I’d better do it on my own phone or PC. I think that’s common sense. No lawsuit needed here.