ECHR ruling on work place messages & privacy

Manach

An interesting clarification of what employers may access during work hours.

"
Employers can read workers' private messages sent via chat software and webmail accounts during working hours, judges have ruled.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said a firm that read a worker's Yahoo Messenger chats sent while he was at work was within its rights.
Judges said he had breached the company's rules and that his employer had a right to check on his activities.

Such policies must also protect workers against unfettered snooping, they said.
The judges, sitting in the ECHR in Strasbourg, handed down their decision on Tuesday. It binds all countries that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.
" - http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35301148

Carawaystick

The case was about work checking an email account set up specifically for work...

Gatling

Carawaystick wrote: »

The case was about work checking an email account set up specifically for work...

All the reports are saying it was yahoo messenger that the employee was apparently using

Stheno

Gatling wrote: »

All the reports are saying it was yahoo messenger that the employee was apparently using

Which was banned by the organisation, they may have been using it internally at one point.

Marcusm

Anyone who believes they can expect privacy on any communication via an employer provided device (computer, phone, tablet) is living in a different age.

Steve

Marcusm wrote: »

Anyone who believes they can expect privacy on any communication via an employer provided device (computer, phone, tablet) is living in a different age.

Or even a personal device using company wifi..

Disgruntled Badger

No issue here. Employer owns the equipment. You want to keep correspondence personal, use your own phone.

Carawaystick

Stheno wrote: »

Which was banned by the organisation, they may have been using it internally at one point.

hardly banned if the employer asked him to create a yahoo messenger account to communicate to clients

echr wrote:

6. From 1 August 2004 to 6 August 2007, he was employed by a private company (“the employer”) as an engineer in charge of sales. At his employer’s request, he created a Yahoo Messenger account for the purpose of responding to clients’ enquiries.
7. On 13 July 2007 the employer informed the applicant that his Yahoo Messenger communications had been monitored from 5 to 13 July 2007 and that the records showed that he had used the Internet for personal purposes, contrary to internal regulations. The applicant replied in writing that he had only used Yahoo Messenger for professional purposes. When presented with a forty-five-page transcript of his communications on Yahoo Messenger,

Del2005

Gatling wrote: »

All the reports are saying it was yahoo messenger that the employee was apparently using

The employee had 2 Yahoo accounts, one private one work. The ruling was about accessing the work account, the problem is that once the data is going over the companies network or devices the only way that they know it's private would be to access it.

If you don't want your company accessing your private data the only to do that is don't use their equipment.

Kind of ironic that the person took their employer to court for privacy issues when using a service that sells your data, which could have been confidential company information.

imitation

The media are spinning it as if they can access your personal data if you use a messenger service during working hours, but the reality is you are at risk only if you are using there device or connection. I can only imagine them getting access to your personal information on your own pc/phone/internet in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

Victor

imitation wrote: »

The media are spinning it as if they can access your personal data if you use a messenger service during working hours, but the reality is you are at risk only if you are using there device or connection. I can only imagine them getting access to your personal information on your own pc/phone/internet in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

I've not read the judgement, but I imagine it makes a distinction between the employer (a) determining whether data is work related or not and (b) trawling through your personal information looking for salacious details.

Steve

Victor wrote: »

I've not read the judgement, but I imagine it makes a distinction between the employer (a) determining whether data is work related or not and (b) trawling through your personal information looking for salacious details.

I read it as the need good reason to dig into the messages.

If they think you are using an email / IM service to communicate with customers / suppliers then it's fair game as it is considered as corporate communication channel rather than personal. It's also fair game if someone is suspected of sending confidential corporate information via a personal account or phone using company servers / internet. I have first hand experience of that, it happened a few years back in a place I was working, and its frightening what forensic detectives can glean from server records.