It is a rare company these days that does not allow some form of access to the Internet to their employees.
Employees are the backbone of any business, but sometimes they can cause legal problems for companies arising out of their uninformed use of email and the Internet. These problems can include the illegal copying of third party copyrighted material, downloading or sending racist or obscene material and disclosing company secrets through email transmissions to third parties.
Companies need to educate their employees on the acceptable uses of the Internet and email. Employees need to be advised that an email message is a corporate document that may be discoverable in litigation - something that Microsoft found out the hard way.
Employees also need to be educated as to what information the company considers to be confidential or its trade secrets and be advised that the communication of this information in any form is not permitted. They need to be given information on what copyright is and how it can be infringed.
The company needs to decide whether email is going to be treated as a private means of communication or if it is going to monitor email messages and Internet use.
There are traps awaiting an automatic reaction that it should be private, however. The company might have to open and read email if there are allegations of harassment or theft. The email might contain discoverable material and have to be produced in a court proceeding. In fact, if the company suspects that one of its employees is transmitting company secrets through the use of email, the company will want to be able to prove this by producing a copy of the offending messages.
When you use the Internet and email as part of everyday life in your company, think of this:
- Is email and use of the Internet a private system of communication or will it be monitored? Do your employees know the policy?
- Can you monitor use and email? Consider the implications of privacy legislation, union contracts or collective agreements to which the company is a party and also consider the effect of provisions of the Criminal Code. What if employees encrypt their email - will this be allowed? Will you have the key?
- Be aware of the company's liability for what employees place on the Internet in the company's name or using the company's URL.
- Consider a written policy on what can be placed on your Web site.
- What rules do you want to impose on employees about etiquette on the Internet - e.g., flaming, mail bombing, spamming etc..
- Be aware of what you can and cannot do with the personal information you may acquire from your Web Site etc.. Note the implications of the federal and provincial legislation on the protection of personal information.
- Advise outside companies you send confidential information to that they should not send certain material to you on-line.
- Consider revising Nondisclosure Agreements to prohibit unencrypted communication through email when confidential information is being exchanged with other companies.
- Look into the use of digital signatures for sensitive email.
- Advise employees of the risk of viruses from downloaded material and institute procedures to sweep the systems regularly for viruses. Be aware of your liability if you transmit a virus to a customer or other user.
- Advise employees of the law with respect to copyright infringement.
- Prohibit the downloading of obscene and other objectionable material.
- Figure out how you are going to enforce this policy - get technical and legal advice.
Disclaimer: This Newsletter is intended to provide readers with general information on legal developments in the areas of e-commerce, information technology and intellectual property. It is not intended to be a complete statement of the law, nor is it intended to provide legal advice. No person should act or rely upon the information contained in this newsletter without seeking legal advice.
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