email privacy

windowdresser

I have a question about email privacy.

Take a person whose personal and work email address is the same - firstname@companyname.ie. I send them personal emails. They object to what I wrote, and they send the personal emails I sent them to their boss without seeking my permission, without telling me, and without even warning me that they were thinking of doing it.

I can say right now that the company's policy does not allow their boss to read their email - because this person is in a profession where they receive confidential personal information on a regular basis. I can also say that I was never ever told that emails I sent them might be forwarded on without any warning or anything.

Should I have assumed that it was possible emails could be forwarded on like that?

Procrastastudy

How can a personal e-mail be name@companyname.ie?

Tom Young

See ECHR case of Copland v UK.

aidan_walsh

Tom Young wrote: »

See ECHR case of Copland v UK.

(Having only read the circumstances of both issues) Does Copland apply if the recipient of the mail forwards it to another party? This doesn't look like the same issue.

Tom Young

Might not be, what will come in to play is the IT Code in respect of the organisation, ergo Copland could partially apply in those circumstances.

windowdresser

Thanks for the responses.

How can a personal e-mail be name@companyname.ie?

That is the only email address this person has, as far as I am aware. And, as far as I am aware, it is the email address they give out when they are asked for their personal email address.

I've only ever seen this person with one mobile phone - a company phone. When I asked them for their personal phone number, I was told that the company phone is the only phone that they have, and that I should use it for personal communications between us.

I believe this use of company email and phones for their personal use is something the company is fully aware of and supports.

See ECHR case of Copland v UK.

Thanks, but as Aidan points out, this is slightly different. This is someone sending copies of personal emails to their boss, not their boss monitoring their personal emails.

It isn't the employee's rights that may or may not be being violated - it is mine that may or may not be violated.

I believe I retain copyright over emails that I send. I am obviously authorising the addressee of the emails to read them. Is there an implicit authorisation for the addressee to consider the material "theirs" to the extent that they may forward it on to others?

ResearchWill

windowdresser wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

That is the only email address this person has, as far as I am aware. And, as far as I am aware, it is the email address they give out when they are asked for their personal email address.

I've only ever seen this person with one mobile phone - a company phone. When I asked them for their personal phone number, I was told that the company phone is the only phone that they have, and that I should use it for personal communications between us.

I believe this use of company email and phones for their personal use is something the company is fully aware of and supports.

Thanks, but as Aidan points out, this is slightly different. This is someone sending copies of personal emails to their boss, not their boss monitoring their personal emails.

It isn't the employee's rights that may or may not be being violated - it is mine that may or may not be violated.

I believe I retain copyright over emails that I send. I am obviously authorising the addressee of the emails to read them. Is there an implicit authorisation for the addressee to consider the material "theirs" to the extent that they may forward it on to others?

OK if I get you correctly, you have sent a person an e-mail to a address @somecompany.com. This email is a private communication between you and said person, that person has objected to the content of the e-mail for some reason and has forwarded said e-mail to their boss. You object to that.

Is it a work of art, or music or a book? Have you claimed copyright in the e-mail? Have you requested privacy in the e-mail?

If you send someone a letter or e-mail can you expect blanket privacy, well depending on the facts of the case maybe not.

If you object to this person sending your e-mails to someone else simple solution is don't send any more. You are not communicating with the person on a professional level as you say it is personal e-mails, so don't send any more, problem solved.

D3sperado

Give the Data Protection Commissioner's office a quick call. From what you describe it looks like you were corresponding with a person for a private purpose and now that person (and by extension the company) is processing your personal data for a different purpose without your consent.

The company may be able to rely on one of the other grounds in the DP acts to justify the processing such as its a legitimate business interest etc, but its worth a shot. Also would there have been any sensitive personal data in the emails you sent, e.g. medical info etc, if so this would strengthen your argument that it's unlawful processing.

aidan_walsh

That is the only email address this person has, as far as I am aware. And, as far as I am aware, it is the email address they give out when they are asked for their personal email address.

I've only ever seen this person with one mobile phone - a company phone. When I asked them for their personal phone number, I was told that the company phone is the only phone that they have, and that I should use it for personal communications between us.

I believe this use of company email and phones for their personal use is something the company is fully aware of and supports.

Don't assume this. This person may not be aware of what the company does and doesn't permit (quite a lot of people don't). Any emails sent to a company account should be sent under the assumption that this is a possibility that they will be seen by other people in the course of normal business. An account should only be considered personal if it is from a known personal account provider or a privately hosted account for or on behalf of the person to whom the mail is intended.

Victor

I'm not necessarily seeing this from a legal point of view.

windowdresser wrote: »

They object to what I wrote, and they send the personal emails I sent them to their boss without seeking my permission, without telling me, and without even warning me that they were thinking of doing it.

You sent objectionable material to someone on their work e-mail, they sent it to their boss as an example of the objectionable material they receive - I don't see a problem.

I can say right now that the company's policy does not allow their boss to read their email - because this person is in a profession where they receive confidential personal information on a regular basis.

No, the boss read his own e-mail sent from his subordinate.

MagicSean

Sounds like you have fallen foul of the company's IT and HR policy. You should see your union rep or a solicitor.

windowdresser

Thanks for the responses.

ResearchWill wrote: »

Is it a work of art, or music or a book?

No - it was personal. Too personal for me to be comfortable with the boss seeing it. I was in a state of bad distress when I wrote it.

D3sperado wrote: »

Give the Data Protection Commissioner's office a quick call. From what you describe it looks like you were corresponding with a person for a private purpose and now that person (and by extension the company) is processing your personal data for a different purpose without your consent.

The company may be able to rely on one of the other grounds in the DP acts to justify the processing such as its a legitimate business interest etc, but its worth a shot. Also would there have been any sensitive personal data in the emails you sent, e.g. medical info etc, if so this would strengthen your argument that it's unlawful processing.

Thanks. I don't think there was the kind of personal information (medical info etc) that would be specifically covered under any DP act, but still, you are right in that the information is being processed in a way that does not have my consent.

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Don't assume this. This person may not be aware of what the company does and doesn't permit (quite a lot of people don't).

It's a very small company - everyone knows everyone else, and they socialise quite a bit together. I can't imagine that the boss isn't aware that the email address is being used for personal communications.

Any emails sent to a company account should be sent under the assumption that this is a possibility that they will be seen by other people in the course of normal business.

Even if the emails could contain things like personal medical info that the boss isn't professionally qualified to process?

Victor wrote: »

I'm not necessarily seeing this from a legal point of view.You sent objectionable material to someone on their work e-mail, they sent it to their boss as an example of the objectionable material they receive - I don't see a problem.

Fair enough. But it was done without me even being warned that it was a possibility. It has created a very difficult situation between me and the boss.

No, the boss read his own e-mail sent from his subordinate.

Again, fair enough. I'm not questioning that - I'm questioning the actions of the subordinate sending the email in the first place.

MagicSean wrote: »

Sounds like you have fallen foul of the company's IT and HR policy. You should see your union rep or a solicitor.

I'm not an employee of said company.

Thanks again.

ResearchWill

MagicSean wrote: »

Sounds like you have fallen foul of the company's IT and HR policy. You should see your union rep or a solicitor.

Why his union rep, he sent an email to an employee of a company, he never said he worked for the company. Said e-mail was of a personal nature, the person who got it took offence. That person then sent it to her boss. I really can not see any breach of any law here.

MagicSean

ResearchWill wrote: »

Why his union rep, he sent an email to an employee of a company, he never said he worked for the company. Said e-mail was of a personal nature, the person who got it took offence. That person then sent it to her boss. I really can not see any breach of any law here.

i assumed op also worked there. As to breaches of the law. It really depends on the content of the email and how it affected the recipient.

Either you were communicating with the employee personally or with the company. If communicating with them personally the data protection act doesn't really apply. Why would you think they shouldn't be allowed show someone else what they were sent?

ResearchWill

MagicSean wrote: »

i assumed op also worked there. As to breaches of the law. It really depends on the content of the email and how it affected the recipient.

Either you were communicating with the employee personally or with the company. If communicating with them personally the data protection act doesn't really apply. Why would you think they shouldn't be allowed show someone else what they were sent?

He made it very clear the communication was of a personal nature, which the person who got took offence. Hence why I cannot on the information provided see any breach.

MagicSean

ResearchWill wrote: »

He made it very clear the communication was of a personal nature, which the person who got took offence. Hence why I cannot on the information provided see any breach.

You missed my point. If communicating personally then you can't rely on the data protection act. if communicating with the company then you can't expect privacy from the employee.

And without knowing the content you cannot say if there is a crime committed.

ResearchWill

MagicSean wrote: »

You missed my point. If communicating personally then you can't rely on the data protection act. if communicating with the company then you can't expect privacy from the employee.

And without knowing the content you cannot say if there is a crime committed.

I think we agree, I have said from the start as personal no data protection, and without knowing the contents I can not see any breach. If the person who received the message took offence then it's possible the only offence could have been committed by the OP depending on contents and frequency of communications.