Plan B Forum

How much privacy does an employee have when using a work laptop at home?

Not much, it seems, after a senior public servant was sacked after googling the word ''knockers'' and looking at legal pornography. That was despite the access being out of work hours and the public servant using his own internet service provider.

The public servant, from the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, was sacked after a software program, called Spector360, was set up by the department to catch any use of the word ''knockers''.

The program, which takes a snapshot of a user's desktop every 30 seconds, was then used to unearth the internet history of the man with a 25-year career with the public service. It uncovered his usage despite him having deleted his browser history.

The public servant, whom this website has decided not to name, had argued in the Federal Court in Canberra that the searches by Spector360 while he was at home were a ''gross'' breach of his privacy and the department had given him the laptop for personal use.

The Federal Court heard there was no evidence anyone else saw the pornography. ''Other persons in his workplace were not scandalised by being exposed to them [the images] and there is no evidence that he passed any of the material on to others,'' Justice Nye Perram said.

But the department countered that it had clear policies against the use of work computers for pornography and it regarded it as a ''very serious matter''.

It had legitimate concerns that even if the pornography was viewed at home there was a risk it could accidentally re-appear at work, government lawyers argued.

The Commonwealth had always made it clear that it monitored computer use.

Justice Perram said the senior public servant, who was also on an IT subcommittee, should have been aware he was being monitored. He dismissed his application and ordered him to pay the department's costs.

The judge said that, while the sacking might be harsh, it was reasonable as the public servant had dissembled when asked about his internet usage, which led to an ''adverse'' view about his integrity.

''It may well be harsh - there will be those who think it inhumane - but that is not the requisite standard,'' he said.

At first the public servant claimed the access to the pornography was accidental and then, Justice Perram said, later created an ''elaborate but ultimately unbelievable explanation for his actions based around notions of research and inquiry''.

He also rejected the argument that the public servant's privacy had been infringed. ''It was not his laptop and its owner had asked him not to use it to view pornography.''

But Justice Perram said the case came close to reaching a standard for it to be possibly overturned.

''Some might think that the resources of the Commonwealth could be much better utilised on activities apart from the zealous pursuit [of the public servant] over something he did in his own home which was not against the law.''

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/techno ... 1adue.html

Only an idiot uses a company computer for personal use.

Oldr, if the company had as it claims "clear policies" regarding the use of work computers and pornography, and he violated those policies, then he was on notice and deserves the Sacking.