Editorial: Don’t assume private data stored on public platforms will always remain private

Do employers have a right to go through employee emails on company computers?

The question has arisen countless times, in countless offices, but a final, definitive answer hasn’t been established.

Regardless of the legality, people should not assume that private data on public servers remains private.

One current issue has drawn media attention, but it’s not unusual and it provides a good example of the issue, and why all workers should know the caveats.

An employee of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has filed a complaint alleging the city attorney has searched through emails of workers who have reported or commented about problems within the office. Whether or not the allegations are true has not been verified, but it has raised questions, and concerns well beyond the department.

After all, nearly everybody who works on a company computer does it. They send and receive private emails, often through their company accounts. They check their social media accounts or browse for information that’s not related to their jobs. it’s convenient and people generally do it without thinking about any improprieties or consequences.

Maybe they should.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that an Ontario, Calif., police chief had the right to search transcripts of an employee’s work pager to determine if the pager was being misused. In other cases, employers have asserted their right to check emails sent to workers who were on vacation to determine if any work-related messages needed to be addressed during those workers’ absence.

But whether or not employers have a legal right to conduct such searches, we should all remember that often, they can.

Most companies connect their computers to a common server or have each computer’s unique address and can access those computers and all programs stored on them. They do so not only to facilitate interactions among the various computers but also to run security software, address viruses and update programs. Normally most of those tasks are automatic, programmed tasks that are performed periodically, without any managers’ involvement — or worker’s knowledge.

They have that right; after all, those resources usually belong to the companies and not to the individual workers.

Surely, most employers are reasonable and recognize that workers sometimes will use company computers for personal matters. As long as the workers don’t abuse that privilege and do their jobs, they likely will be left alone. Besides, most managers have their own work to do and don’t have the time or inclination to be snooping into their workers’ computers and accounts.

Unfortunately, some workers aren’t so lucky, and might have supervisors who might scan workers’ computers — and perhaps stop if they see an email subject line or file name that piques their interest.

Whether managers’ access is legal or not, and ethical or not, might never be fully resolved. But it’s worth remembering that whether or not they have the right to see what’s on our computers, they have the ability. And the primary obligation to ensuring that the wrong eyes don’t see sensitive information lies with each user, not the manager or company.