직장내 이메일(e-mail) 감청과 프라이버시

E-mail intercepting and privacy in the workplace

E-mail is a convenient and financially beneficial tool In the work-place. Although businesses that take advantage of e-mail have experienced many benefits. these same businesses also face a number of disadvantages. One such disadvantage is the legal liability that employers may face for the e-mall-related actions of their employees Recognizing these problems. employers are now using surveillance software. known as 'spyware' that can capture every keystroke a user types at a computer. or take screen shots at regular intervals of everything a computer user does Including Web-based e-mail activity Employers give three main reasons for electronically monitoring employee e-mail use minimizing liability. avoiding reduction In employee productivity. and protecting company assets There is a fundamental difference between company-controlled. company-provided e-mail accounts and personal. web-based accounts. each system has a different host or origrnator In a company system. the employer controls and usually hosts the system on a company server. In a pelsonal e-mail system. an independent provider. such as Yahoo 01 Hotmall. stores the e-mall on its server. In response to the lack of privacy afforded company e-mail accounts. many employees choose to conduct their personal affairs via web-based. personal e-mall accounts that are typically available through Internet access provided by the employer But web-based accounts may not isolate an employer from liability. most companies In the US, therefore, seek the ability to mom tor web-based, per?sonal e-mall accounts as well The U,S, courts examining common law privacy claims related to the e-mail monitoring have generally sided with employers, holding that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a company-maintained, proprietary e-mail account, These decisions are based on three primary rationales, First, the courts have focused on the fact that e-mails are sent and received via the company, proprietary e-mail system, Employees are using the company's property while on company time Using a computer and server that belong to another tends to decrease one's expectation of privacy in the use of such devices Second, the courts point to the fact that e-malls sent via company e-mail systems are open to forwarding by a third party which diminishes any expectation of privacy with regard to e-malls Even in cases where companies allowed employees to create folders for the e-mail or utilize password protection for their accounts, the courts still hold that this does not create a reasonable expectation of privacy, Finally, the courts turn to the level of offensiveness that the intrusion would impose on a reasonable person The courts have suggested several reasons why employee suits would not pass this hurdle, The courts take into account an employer's Justifications and Interests in monitoring, and have often determined that the legitimate business Interests of a company achieved by monitoring far outweigh an employee's privacy concerns Such legitimate business interests Include avoiding workplace discrimination or investigating theft or illegal activity The courts also stress the fact that all computers used to store, send, and receive the e-malls are owned by the employer, and are thus company property These factors have led courts to conclude that an employer monitoring employee e-mall messages on a proprietary company system, for legitimate purposes, does not rise to the level of being highly offensive to a reasonable person The courts and the legislatures in the U S are one step belimd in interpreting and creating laws that will adequately reflect the interaction between computer technology and society However, the legal interpretation or protection should be distmguished between company-controlled, company-provided e-mail accounts and personal. web-based accounts because there is a fundamental difference m technology, the web-based account e-mails are not automatically