The technologies of today have blurred the line between
public and private. For many of us, a review of our emails, Web searches, and
text-message inboxes could be used to paint a virtual portrait of our lives.
Unfortunately, what many forget is that these logs are not gone when we delete
them, nor are we the only people who can see them – depending on who's footing
the bill.
I'm very lucky in my job because I get to surf the Internet
looking for controversies. I know that not everyone has this luxury. While I'm
at work, using a company-provided computer and Internet connection, I know that
what I'm doing could be monitored. A lot of people (myself included) have never
questioned this idea – until now.
Quon v. Arch Wireless
This week, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled in favor of Jeff Quon, a
police officer whose department decided to review the text messages sent from
his department-supplied pager. Quon sued the police department, the city, and
service provider Arch Wireless for violating his privacy. Quon's lawyer argued
that although the police department had supplied the phone, Arch Wireless was
an external entity – meaning that without a warrant or employee permission, the
department was not entitled to read Quon's messages.
The court ruled unanimously in Quon's favor, explaining that
a "reasonable expectation of privacy" is understood when dealing with an
outside provider. By seizing the text-message records without a warrant or
Quon's consent, the police department and Arch Wireless were said to have
violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects
against unreasonable search and seizure.
But is American case law now clear?
"The extent to which the Fourth Amendment provides
protection for the contents of electronic communications in the Internet Age is
an open question", admitted Judge Kim Wardlaw. Nevertheless, the Electronic
Frontier Foundation claimed that the Quon
ruling helps to ensure that the Fourth Amendment "applies to your
communications online just as strongly as it does to packages and letters."
But does it?
Privacy at Work
So does privacy exist at work? It depends on the situation.
If you're using messaging programs on an internal server, then your employer
can investigate what you're sending or searching without your consent. But if
doing "business" on a handheld or PDA device through a service provider (e.g.,
Verizon, AT&T, Arch Wireless.), your information is - at least according to
the federal appeal court in San
Francisco - protected under the Fourth Amendment and
the Stored Communications Act
Court cases like the Quon
v. Arch Wireless are instructive because they help clarify what is public
and what is private. As I mentioned earlier, when I'm at work, I understand
that I'm using my employer's computer and Internet connection. So, I save
whatever might be considered "inappropriate" for when I'm home.
How about you?
Resources:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/whos-snooping-on-you-at-work/index.html
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-text19-2008jun19,0,1023202.story?vote40131238=1
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELECTRONIC_PRIVACY?SITE=VASTR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080620-x-rated-sms-case-gives-employees-some-privacy-guarantees.html
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