RE: Company vs Privacy (was Re: Gartner Group: DO NOT USE IIS!)

Thomas,

You write, "If it's intended private and personal, then the *content* is
private and personal." And I don't disagree with that, but how is the
company to know if it's private w/o looking?

I didn't say you couldn't use corporate e-mail for personal use, just that
the company has the right to monitor that use. Take your break-room example,
are you saying that the company doesn't have the right to say "OK guys,
breaks over?" of course they do. I don't know of any company that doesn't
allow personal e-mail (I'm sure they exist, but I don't know of any) I'm
simply saying that companies are allowed to monitor it. In fact the SEC has
rules that require financial companies to be able to monitor e-mail so some
POP3-based solutions may not even be an option for these companies.

-Walden

-----Original Message-----
From: thomas@inorbit.com [mailto:thomas@inorbit.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 10:45 PM
To: midrange-l@midrange.com
Subject: Company vs Privacy (was Re: Gartner Group: DO NOT USE IIS!)


On Wed, 26 September 2001, "Nathan M. Andelin" wrote:

>   Cameras
> hovering the cubicles?  Wire taps on the phone lines?  Where do the rights
> of corporations end?

This gets at what keeps me from absolute commitment either way. I cannot
argue against the fact that the company pays for the PC, pays for the
server, pays for the network, etc. There are clearly company property rights
involved.

But the company pays for phone service... Does that make every phone call
company property?

The company pays for the break room... Does that make every conversation
company property?

If someone sticks their head in my cubicle and we chat, should it be subject
to recording and even copyright?

I think there are parallels that can be drawn among all such situations and
all should be treated accordingly. The intent of the message should make it
obvious. If it's intended private and personal, then the *content* is
private and personal. It should be just as clear that there are limits. The
company pays for my cubicle space, but I'm commonly allowed to use some
personally. Maybe I have pictures of my family on my desk. Maybe I use some
floor space to set some packages down that I bought during lunch. But I
don't use excess space as personal storage space. Likewise, I might send or
receive personal e-mail, but I don't start stashing gigabytes of stuff
whenever and for as long as I choose.

Abuse and respect go both ways.

Tom Liotta



--
Tom Liotta
The PowerTech Group, Inc.
19426 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
Phone  253-872-7788
Fax  253-872-7904
http://www.400Security.com


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