Right to Privacy and the Internet


In discussing the International Bill of Rights and its relation to the issue of privacy, the Internet, and employer monitoring, I will begin by examining the published comments of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding the interpretation of Article 17 of the CCPR to see if some greater insight into the right to privacy can be gained in this way. Such comments are extremely important, since in agreeing to the CCPR, nations are binding themselves to the interpretation provided by the OHCHR.

There are 11 particular points raised in the OHCHR comment on Article 17 of the CCPR. Of these, several are particularly relevant to the particular issue under discussion. Point 3 notes that when the article prohibits unlawful interference with privacy, this means that no interference with privacy can take place except for cases specifically authorised by law, and that the law itself must also comply with the provisions of the covenant. Point 4 emphasises this even further by noting that arbitrary interference is also prohibited by the covenant, and this may well include interference that is provided for under law. Any legal interference with privacy should be reasonable in the particular circumstances. Point 8 deals specifically with correspondence, and notes:

Compliance with article 17 requires that the integrity and confidentiality of correspondence should be guaranteed de jure and de facto. Correspondence should be delivered to the addressee without interception and without being opened or otherwise read. Surveillance, whether electronic or otherwise , interceptions of telephonic, telegraphic and other forms of communication, wire-tapping and recording of conversations should be prohibited. (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, comment on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 17)

Point 8 also notes that where authorised interference with correspondence is contemplated, such interference may only be made by the authority designated under the law, and the decision to engage in such interference must be made on a case-by-case basis. Point 9 notes that state parties are also under an obligation not to engage in interference with correspondence that is inconsistent with Article 17 of the covenant.

Point 10 deals with the gathering and holding of personal information in computer databases. Apart from stating that such activities must be regulated by law, it also states that individuals have the right to know who holds such databases, who has access to those databases, and what information is held about each individual in those databases. In the event that any information so held is found to be incorrect or to have been gathered or processed contrary to law, then each individual is entitled to request rectification of the incorrect information or elimination of the improperly collected information.

The comments made regarding the implications and implementation of Article 17 dovetail nicely with the comments that I made earlier in this chapter about circumstances where privacy may justifiably be breached. The comments also have major implications for employer monitoring of employees use of the Internet, since they bear directly on the practices of monitoring of e-mail and employee Web usage.




Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace. Controversies and Solutions
Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace: Controversies and Solutions
ISBN: 1591404568
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 161

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