MPH Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35301148 Private messages at work can be read by employers, says court By Kevin RawlinsonBBC News 1 hour ago From the sectionTechnology 187comments Image copyrightThinkstockImage captionEmployers must put policies in place to protect workers from widespread snoopingEmployers 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 breached the company's rules and that his employer had a right to check he was completing his work. 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, which includes Britain. The worker, an engineer in Romania, asked the court to rule that his employer had breached his right to confidential correspondence when it accessed his messages and subsequently sacked him in 2007. His employer had discovered that he was using Yahoo Messenger for personal contacts, as well as professional ones. Because it believed it was accessing a work account, the judges said, the firm had not erred. They dismissed the man's request, saying that it was not "unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours". Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionThe European Court of Human Rights ruled on the case The judges said: "The employer acted within its disciplinary powers since, as the domestic courts found, it had accessed the Yahoo Messenger account on the assumption that the information in question had been related to professional activities and that such access had therefore been legitimate. The court sees no reason to question these findings." However, they said that unregulated snooping would not be acceptable and wrote in their decision that a set of policies must be drawn up that clearly define what an employer can collect and how.
Vacamion Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 It's made very clear to my colleagues that work e-mail belongs to the employer and so you shouldn't send anything you wouldn't want the employer to see. If you want to exchange hentai sites, pot recipes and youtube vids of ISIS beheadings, pay for it yourself and do it on your own account. Simple, really
Finnaldo Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 It's made very clear to my colleagues that work e-mail belongs to the employer and so you shouldn't send anything you wouldn't want the employer to see. If you want to exchange hentai sites, pot recipes and youtube vids of ISIS beheadings, pay for it yourself and do it on your own account. Simple, really You're free to share hentai sites then?
Vacamion Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 You're free to share hentai sites then? Yes, as I am doing this on my phone, which I pay for....
ramboacdc Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 try me, i clear my work browsing history daily!
MPH Posted 13 January 2016 Author Posted 13 January 2016 Yes, as I am doing this on my phone, which I pay for.... I think the ruling was more to do with the TIME. as you are on work time, anything sent during that time is considered the property of your company. At least i think that's what it is saying!
VLC86 Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 I think the ruling was more to do with the TIME. as you are on work time, anything sent during that time is considered the property of your company. At least i think that's what it is saying! Yep reads that way to me, nothing mentioning work email it's stuff like whatsapp messages send during work time
MPH Posted 13 January 2016 Author Posted 13 January 2016 try me, i clear my work browsing history daily! Lets hope they don't find this message
sphericalfox Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 try me, i clear my work browsing history daily! Haha, like that makes a difference.
Vicki Vixen Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 try me, i clear my work browsing history daily! If only IT security departments were still this basic
VLC86 Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 try me, i clear my work browsing history daily! Hi pal, I work for MI5 and was wondering if you wanted a job in our cyber intelligence team. You seam to fit the bill. Inbox me...
Guest Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 Hi pal, I work for MI5 and was wondering if you wanted a job in our cyber intelligence team. You seam to fit the bill. Inbox me... Not in work time though
MPH Posted 13 January 2016 Author Posted 13 January 2016 Can they read your whatsapp? from what i understand, yes. With suspicion that some of it was sent during work time.
jammie82uk Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 Can they read your whatsapp? Only if you are using a phone/phone number provided by your employer
VLC86 Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 Not in work time thoughYou passed the test. Meet me where the grey lizard swims for your reward.
ozleicester Posted 13 January 2016 Posted 13 January 2016 just use your personal phone. All electronic stuff on work comp... is available to them
MPH Posted 14 January 2016 Author Posted 14 January 2016 Only if you are using a phone/phone number provided by your employer just use your personal phone. All electronic stuff on work comp... is available to them Think you guys are missing the point... This ruling is saying that if this happens during work time, no matter what the device then they are entitled to access it...
ozleicester Posted 14 January 2016 Posted 14 January 2016 Think you guys are missing the point... This ruling is saying that if this happens during work time, no matter what the device then they are entitled to access it... Im not so sure, ... "he was using Yahoo Messenger for personal contacts, as well as professional ones. Because it believed it was accessing a work account" i dont think they are saying they can access personal phones or personal accounts... but they can access work related ones, which im pretty sure we all, already knew that?
Babylon Posted 14 January 2016 Posted 14 January 2016 Think you guys are missing the point... This ruling is saying that if this happens during work time, no matter what the device then they are entitled to access it... No chance would they be able to look at your phone, that is private. Best they could do is watch like a hawk and discipline you for using your phone.
ScouseFox Posted 14 January 2016 Posted 14 January 2016 lmao imagine if yer boss was getting off on your dms to your bird just cos you sent them between 9 am 5
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