Monitoring And Intellectual Property :

If you're using your computer at work, and your company has a stated policy regarding monitoring your use (perhaps even absent that policy, depending on how you read the case law), then you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in anything that you do online using your work computer, whether that's during your work day, after hours, or while traveling. Your company can legitimately "eavesdrop" on anything you do with their equipment, and there's little you can do about it.

Workplace privacy is one of the biggest issues facing businesses today. Do you feel like you are being watched all the time, all your e-mails being read, and every key stroke is being monitored by your boss? Some people feel this way and that is why privacy in the workplace is a problem with many businesses today. Employees feel like they are not being trusted, or feel the company invades on their personal privacy, or violates their fourth amendment rights. On the other hand many businesses have many federal and state laws to follow, and must keep their assets safe, and their employees. Technology makes communications of all sorts as easy as a few pushes of a button. This technology makes it

This section of the employee handbook is provided as a guideline for employees to understand the company policy and procedures regarding privacy in the workplace. While this section cannot address every possible scenario that may occur, the general policy will serve as a basis of understanding the key workplace issues and employee privacy. This section addresses privacy issues related to personal background information, off-work activities, and the corporate policy on the use of electronic monitoring. These privacy policies are designed to both provide a clear guideline for employees on the difference between job related and personal privacy. The policies are designed to create a standard set of

The most common form of an invasion, to employee privacy rights is email. With the massive use of computers, email has become the biggest communication tool of choice in the workplace. The concern of employers has grown tremendously with the use of email in the workplace. Employers' concern is that, employees can waste time by sending and receiving email for personal use, and they may provide easy access for hackers to entry their computer system. Employers can monitor an employee computer activity to ensure productivity in the workplace. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2006) states, "Unfortunately, if an employee uses a company computer for email use, the employee employer has the right to review the contents of his or her email."

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse went over computer and workstation monitoring, email monitoring, telephone monitoring, mobile device monitoring, audio and video monitoring, GPS tracking, postal mail and social media monitoring. Employers are able to see what is on your screen, how much time you spend away from your computer and how many keystrokes per hour each employer does. Employers are able to discretely monitor employees with certain computer equipment. Employees may not know they are being monitored. Employers can review email content. Even though the message may have an option for marking an email as private, the company may still have access to the email. You should assume that your work emails are not private. Even though you may delete your emails, the company still has access to them also.

Usage of personal technologies – Employee may not use its own personal e-mail or social media accounts for transmitting business related

The inappropriate disclosure or misuse of sensitive information by an employee may result in financial considerations and legal consequences for an organization. “Mobile devices provide all kinds of new scenarios for business data to go missing, be shared with others, or be stolen. You need to go into BYOD thinking this way, not just for everyday activity, but also when employees move on from your organization” (Arnold, n.d.).

Sharing confidential information about the company you work for definitely something you have to be careful about. Most companies when an employee is given access to that type of information will have agreed to a written right in their employment contract. If that contract is broken then it is definite grounds for termination.

The article “Little brother is watching you” by Miriam Schulman is an informative article that speaks of workplace privacy, specifically the monitoring software “Little Brother”. This program allows employers to access anything that their employees are accessing at work using company technology. This software allows employers to access intimate, and private information that is accessed at work. In this day and age, we live in a world where it’s impossible to “turn off” your work life, you are expected to check emails and answer calls whether they are on the clock or not. Miriam argues the case that if an employee writes a letter to their boyfriend on their lunch break with a pen and paper that is property of the company, does the employer have the right to open and read that letter?

An employer who issues electronic devices such as a cellular phone or computer has the right to search the records and transcripts of the text messages as well as the information and emails stored on the computer at any time. When it comes to employer issued cellular phones and computers, “an employee does not have an expectation of privacy on their company-issued” devices (Wang, 2013). A common occurrence is that prior to starting a job where the employee is working with or are issued electronic devices, he or she will read and sign an acceptable usage policy that clearly states the rules of using company electronic devices. It will also advise the employee that their electronic devices are monitored at all times and are subject to be searched at the employer’s discretion. In my department, you have to read and sign off on the Acceptable Usage Policy at the beginning of your employment. It clearly lists what the employee can and cannot use their issued cellular phone and computer for. It also clearly states that all records are subject to

Google is one of the most popular, and most used web search engines in the world. Google also has many services that helps you send mail, generate website pages, and create blogs. With all of these great tools come many great, user-friendly features specifically tied to Google. Google has vastly become one of the best search engines in the world, if not the best. Google averages about 12 billion searches per month, which is the most by any search engine in the world. Users can also search for photos, newsletters, and even geographic locations. The best part is, that all of these services are basically free. Google has also set to build more then just a search engine. Google is working on Google glass, self-driving cars, and even have a cell phone called the Android. Google also owns the rights to YouTube, where many users go to upload and watch countless videos. Another great thing the company is doing is spending money on alternative energy sources; last year Google spent 1 billion dollars trying to increase the use of wind and solar energy. Google is also fighting in D.C. to keep the Internet free for Americans. Lastly, Google has one of the best working environments in the world. Google has been the number 1 best company to work for 5 times in a row, including this year. They have been reported to the best human resources department in the world, taking their employee’s happiness over profit. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Google is not the best company to work

As a first line of defense, many organizations enforce ActiveSync policies, preinstalled in most consumer mobile devices, to enforce password protection and remote wipe and lock. More sophisticated IT departments may request the installation of additional mobile device management software agents to extend corporate IT reach into any application and functionality of your device. While security and manageability are legitimate concerns for the company, most BYOD programs rely on IT tools that don’t make a clear separation between personal and corporate data and applications. As a result, in case of unauthorized access a real or presumed situation the whole content of the device is more or less likely to be deleted and the device will be unusable. In regards to privacy, from a legal standpoint the fact that the employee owns the device holds no bearing in the event of litigation. As mentioned earlier regarding discovery, the court may require forensic review of all devices in connection with the litigation. An employee participating in a company’s BYOD program may be asked to produce their personal devices for a third party examination. The employee will have to make any personal information stored in the device accessible. This also includes the history of websites visited; songs and movies download and played copies of financial

Today almost all jobs have the potential to be subjected to some type of electronic surveillance. Some jobs more than others are particularly susceptible to monitoring practices. Above n 4, at 6. These can range from the office worker whose supervisor reads his or her e-mail messages to the grocery store cashier

Google is not a slave to Wall Street – The reason being Google builds a corporate culture that will deliver its mission, and that it is principally organized to drive innovation.

The companies have all rights to check the PC to track the employee activity. Let’s see 10 tracking software and how to monitor employee’s computer activity.