...Having worked in transportation and having worked for the Chamber of Commerce in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the position taken of the debate on Communication Laws and Privacy Policies is almost a mute decision. Regrettably the decision would be for employer monitoring. The posts from my fellow classmates in this debate seem strongly one sided and rightfully so. The reasoning and ever growing technology and types of ongoing ways to improve surveillance for monitoring employees simply leaves the debate being for such laws and surveillance. In the first segment of the Electronic Readings “Privacy, Legislation, and Surveillance Software” It mentions the 4th Amendment of the Constitution, “the rights to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.” The explanation of why this amendment cannot interfere with the rights of employers to protect the interests of their property as well as protecting their investment in their employees. This statement and the exceptions provided by the Electronic Communication Privacy Act leaves little if any room to debate this topic. With companies losing billions of dollars a year in loss of productivity, law suits and sabotage employers have every right to protect their assets. I believe employee monitoring goes deeper than just monitoring employees and the implications of mis-handled information via internet. There have been too many scandals referring to this type of illegal mis-handling such as Wikileaks. If this type of mis-handled information...
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...think workplace privacy laws and policies about monitoring emails, phone calls, and computer use should be in place within a company. The employer should be sympathetic and open to potential disagreements and questions which the employees may have about the reasons behind the workplace communication privacy laws and policies, including the protection of both the employer and the employees, the regulating state and federals legislations, the compliance expectations, and the potential consequences of non-compliance (Wakefield, 2006). When a company monitors its employees without employees being aware of it, it can bring down company moral and overall productivity. When the employees are aware from the start of employment that they will be monitored and communication privacy laws and policies are in their code of conduct the employees and the company can benefit from the program. The workplace communication laws and policies are viewed as ethical practice to protect the employee and the employer. Company use these laws and policies to monitor misuse of company transmissions such as: emails, internet use, telephones, and computers. Employees in turn need protection from employers who get in the way of employee privacy. Without the use of communication privacy laws and policies, employee may not be aware of what is acceptable use of company equipment. References Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2010). E-Monitoring in the workplace: privacy, legislation...
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...Check Point: Privacy Laws and Policies Debate I am for communication privacy laws and policies in the workplace. In my opinion every company has rules that has to be follow those rules consist of the use of company equipment for personal use is not allowed. The information is given about company policies are given at the beginning of each new hire. In 1986 Congress pass the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA) which consist laws relating to wiretapping to electronic communication such as emails and internet use (Electronic 2005). In addition, employers may monitor emails and internet communication; they must show that it is from a business purpose for doing so. This has to happen with companies liable for any illegal activity on the use of company equipment. “Generally, however employees do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy where communications are sent over a company controlled e-mail system” (Lasprogata et al. 2004). Companies have to protect themselves from legal liability as result from as harassment and sexually communication. “A recent study revealed that 10% of U.S. companies have received subpoenas resulting from employee email” (D.Nord, T. McCubbins and J.Nord). As I have done more research about privacy laws and polices happening within a company. Both sides have good points about privacy laws and policies but I still am for the privacy laws and policies. These privacy laws and policies are put into place by the company for their own protection...
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...Privacy Laws and Policies Debate Many employees embark on their employers violating their privacy. Employers are becoming more aggressive on how they screen new potential hires as well as their current employees. Normally employers will conduct criminal background checks, drug testing and sometimes a credit check. The question I am asking is how far is too far? Employees need to become more aware of this situation. Employee privacy laws are limited, which makes it easier for employers to invade workers privacy. Something’s are personal and should remain that way. Therefore I am against communication privacy laws and policies in the workplace. Nothing in life exist with infinity as such I believe employers need to re-evaluate heir approach regarding privacy in the work place and perhaps explore alternative solutions to the problem. There are limits to everything in life and employers’ privacy laws should be no different. For the most part the laws are design to not protect the employee but the employers. Information technology such as computers and internet makes it easier to collect, keep, incorporate, switch ad obtain information and data of a company in a technical manner. Today more companies are wired to the internet and because of this users of the internet are more prone to violations of privacy. In order to restrict access to private information the government enacted privacy laws that enforces the privacy of files communication that is based on the computer. Acts...
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...Electronic surveillance in the workplace Electronic Surveillance in the Workplace: Concerns for Employees and Challenges for Privacy Advocates Anna Johnston and Myra Cheng Paper delivered 28 November 2002 International Conference on Personal Data Protection Hosted by Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee, Korea Information Security Agency Seoul, Korea Ms Anna Johnston is the NSW Deputy Privacy Commissioner. Ms Myra Cheng is a Research & Policy Officer with Privacy NSW, the Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dr Ben Searle, Macquarie University, in providing an overview of the relevant literature from the field of organisational psychology. Introduction This paper takes up the challenge of talking about privacy in the workplace - a site of potential conflict in which there may be co-existing radically different views on whether workers can or should have any expectations of privacy. As long as there has been employment, employees have been monitored. Nebeker D M & B C Tatum, "The effects of computer monitoring, standards and rewards on work performance, job satisfaction and stress" (1993) 23(7) Journal of Applied Social Psychology 508 at 508. However, in recent years, with an environment of affordable technology, the availability of less easily observable or detectable monitoring devices, and a lack of adequate regulation, there has been an explosion in the use of electronic monitoring...
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...Ethics and Privacy of Communications in the E-Polis Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic and Virginia Horniak Department of Computer Science and Electronics Mälardalen University Västerås, Sweden I N T R O D U C T I O N The electronic networking of physical space promises wide-ranging advances in science, medicine, delivery of services, environmental monitoring and remediation, industrial production, and the monitoring of persons and machines. It can also lead to new forms of social interaction [..]. However, without appropriate architecture and regulatory controls it can also subvert democratic values. Information technology is not in fact neutral in its values; we must be intentional about design for democracy. (Pottie, 2004) Information and communication technology, ICT, has led to the emergence of global web societies. The subject of this article is privacy and its protection in the process of urbanization and socialization of the global digital web society referred to as the e-polis. Privacy is a fundamental human right recognized in all major international agreements regarding human rights such as Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948), and it will be discussed in the chapter under the heading Different Views of Privacy. Today’s computer network technologies are sociologically founded on huntergatherer principles. As a result, common users may be possible subjects of surveillance and sophisticated Internet-based attacks. A user may be completely...
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...Introduction On a broader perspective, privacy can be defined as the state of being away of public attention. However, this meaning can be altered according to specific situation. The difference in the definition arises due to wide range of topics existing in connection with privacy. Some of these topics encompass physical, informational, organizational, spiritual, intellectual matters, etc. Due to the increasing awareness of the people with regards to this concept of privacy, importance was given in preserving as well as protecting the rights of the public. Some laws are enacted to address this concern, but the privacy laws differ in many countries in terms of the scopes and limitation caused by the variations in interpretations. The culture differences and norms among countries, which greatly influence the public’s perception, significantly affect the interpretation of privacy. It is evident, nowadays, that advancement in technology is faster than what was expected. It can also be observed that the technologies invented have contributed substantial improvements in the society as this made the lives of the people easier and better. However, it cannot be denied that it has a negative side that outweighs some of its benefits. In relation to the privacy issue mentioned above, these technological advancements create threats, specifically to the preservation of its users’ privacy. The rapid increase in the number of users can be associated with the increase of information flow...
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...Privacy Laws and Policies Debate CheckPoint After examining the privacy laws as well as policies within the workplace, I find that companies should insist on such laws and policies in a working environment. Many reasons for my decision exist, the first is companies have reasons for monitoring the computer systems as well as phone lines. After all the software employees operate is the employer's property, and by monitoring the computer systems will assist in preventing the staff. Some employees have been known to use the Internet for personal reasons instead of business purposes; therefore, employees will pay more attention to the Internet than completing the tasks assigned. The Electronic Privacy Communication Act (ECPA) is a law that can protect the employees' privacy; however, one can continue to discover exceptions to the ECPA. One exception is employer's can monitor his or her employees activities so that he or she can prevent unauthorized use. Services like e-mail, telephone, and Internet are other exceptions owned as well as offered by the company; therefore, the company has the right to monitor any employee. The third exception is the consent, in which, "When a party consents to the interception of a communication," (E-Monitoring in the Workplace: Privacy, Legislation, and Surveillance Software, 2006). Organizations desire to make certain workers are using company time proficiently. Companies do not pay employees to deal with personal matters on the clock; however...
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...Privacy Policies and Laws Debate XCOM/285 Essentials of Managerial Communication When thinking about privacy laws and policies, it is safe to clearly state that I am for them. Many people feel that some employers go over board when it comes to this kind of thing but in this age of technology, having privacy polices is not only right it is essential to maintain the respect of the people who work for and with people. There is much evidence that even with privacy policies in place the some employees still use company communications for personal use. There is no clearer evidence of this than that fact the government had to pass laws of privacy laws to protect companies that felt they needed to watch their employee’s use of their communications for any personal use of company communications. These laws were passed so angry employees who were caught using company communications for private things could not go back and sue companies for invasion of their privacy. The ironic part of employees getting upset over what they perceive as an invasion of their privacy is the fact most companies make employees sign privacy agreement policies and then get angry when they get caught breaking them. Privacy policies are not just to protect employers from employees using their communications for private business, but privacy policies are needed to protect companies from viruses that can come in through private emails or...
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...Privacy Laws and Policies Debate Steven Donally XCOM/285 June 27, 2014 Donna Rossi Privacy Laws and Policies Debate I think there is a simple truth when it comes to privacy in the workplace: it doesn’t exist. Your employer has the right to view anything and everything you do on company equipment. They have the right to read your emails, listen to your phone calls and check you incoming and outgoing mail. I do not think this is a bad thing because you are using company equipment to do these things. If I am using a company computer to write a personal email or to browse the web, my employers have every right to monitor what I am writing and the websites I am visiting. Whether or not I am allowed to do these things is irrelevant. I am using equipment that does not belong to me in order to complete these tasks. Most companies have strict rules with regards to what you are and are not allowed to do with company property. I compare it to a company gas card. People who travel for their jobs are often issued gas cards to pay for their gas along the way. If my company issued me a gas card to use while I was on the road and I used it to buy gas for my personal car on my day off then I would probably lose my job. Much the same way that if I was browsing porn on my company computer I would more than likely be fired. The only way a company can prevent these things from happening is to monitor the...
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...The Economist Debates As data mining systems sophisticate, the protective walls guarding personal information privacy are becoming progressively more porous. Often, this is done in the name of security. One position states that assuring the security of a citizenry requires the loss of some personal privacy. Critics argue that the two are not inexorably linked but rather governments and corporations are excusing security as a means to gain greater degrees of personal information. Proposer: Mr Neil C Livingstone Believes that assuring the security of a citizenry requires the loss of some personal privacy The great novelist John Steinbeck once observed, "We spend our time searching for security, and hate it when we get it."1 Thus is our conundrum in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington which traumatised this nation and many of our friends and allies around the globe. Today we face unprecedented security risks to our lives and the fragile infrastructures we depend on to sustain our livelihoods and well-being. Our enemies are far more sophisticated than the stereotype of a bearded jihadist toting an AK-47 hunkered down in the mountains of Pakistan or Afghanistan, an illiterate and superstitious Luddite eager to impose the nostrums and doctrines of the 7th century on the modern world. In reality, many jihadists are technologically sophisticated and linked together by the Internet, which they use to download information on our vulnerabilities and assist them...
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...expect to have privacy in the workplace. The increased use of technology in the workplace has generated new fears for both employers and employees in the privacy region. These days most employees have access to email, and internet access in the workplace, as opposed to a decade ago, has also exploded. According to an IDC Corporation study, two-thirds of employees in medium and large companies in the United States had Internet access in 1997. Today, those numbers are exponentially higher (Gindin, 1997). While this technology can be praised for the ways in which it has helped industry and general public, it also raises concerns about employee’s privacy in the workplace that before did not exist. Employers did not have technological access to both work-related and personal information about their employees, but now employers have full technological access to the employee’s information while he is at work. Question is why employers would need the personal information of their workers, what they do with the information and why employees should be worried, how employers can protect themselves from privacy suits, what the legal position of such privacy concern is and lastly, what employees should be doing to safeguard their privacy while at work. The employees can reasonably expect privacy in the workplace in places like restrooms, parking lots, lounges and in the kitchen area. But generally speaking it is really difficult these days to have complete privacy. Employee privacy issues have...
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...Computer Privacy Computer surveillance in the workplace is nothing new to people. It is commonly known that the employees are being monitored by the leader or boss. When computers and the Internet became prevalent, advanced surveillance increased. There are many employees monitoring software provided for employers to watch over employees' computers. The company administrators can monitor and supervise all of their employee computers including e-mails, chats, screens and even phone calls from time to time. Employees have few if any rights when it comes to electronic surveillance in the workplace. As Brown, Sonja D describes in the article “Naked at work: pssst! The boss is watching”, employees' right to privacy in the workplace is very limited. He asks a series of questions and presents us with several vivid scenes in the workplace, “Are there cameras in your workplace? Are the Websites you visit tracked regularly? Is someone else reading the e-mails you send and receive? How did your boss know that your three-day business trip with the company car was really two days at the client site and one day sightseeing?” (Brown, para. 2). Should employers monitor their employees' uses of these technologies? For the sake of liability, discoverability, productivity and protection of trade secrets and intellectual property, the answer is commonly yes. Can workplace privacy be ignored? Definitely not! The right to privacy plays a unique role in American law and society. Privacy rights...
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...Employee Privacy Report Name COM/285 August 7, 2010 Instructor Employee Privacy Report Introduction The right to privacy is an inherent expectation of all citizens; however, the private citizen should not assume that he or she is afforded the same privacy protections at their place of employment. In fact, employees may find themselves more vulnerable. Other then the constitutional and legal requirements, employers have more latitude when it comes to delving into matters that some employees would otherwise consider personal and private. Therefore, it is important for employees to be aware of his or her privacy rights in the workplace, including policies regarding use of e-mail and Internet. Email and the Internet undoubtedly has revolutionized the way the entire world communicates. The irony is this technology erodes the expectation of privacy because users expose themselves to personal identity theft and it proliferates illegal and malicious activities such as child pornography; harassment; cyber attacks on personal and business networks; and attempts to steal intellectual property. All of this comes with a personal, legal, and financial cost, especially for businesses. Therefore, to protect themselves from legal action and monetary damages, it is necessary for businesses to implement policies that govern the appropriate use of their electronic systems. A Real-World Example of Email use, Internet use, and Privacy policies To demonstrate existing...
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...violated. The goal of the ACLU is to make sure that everyone in the United States is equally protected by the Bill of Rights from government abuse. Although the ACLU is a non-partisan organization, its views tend to typically lean towards the left, and many of its supporters tend to be either liberal or libertarian (votesmart.org). The interest group tends to run into controversy often since it is willing to defend the rights of certain infamous groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. It’s important to note that the American Civil Liberties Union is the nation's largest public interest law firm (aclu.org). The ACLU provides a voice for those who otherwise wouldn’t have one in this country. The ACLU tackles a host of social and libertarian issues in the United States every year. Some of the major concerns that have been brought to light by the ACLU recently include the privacy violations committed by the National...
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