[wizzkid89]

I was watching the news out here in South Dakota and came across an interesting report. Apparently a man was accused of having child pornography on his computer, and the article is here(it was on TV but I went to the TV site and they have some info on it)http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDet...cfm?ID=0,44752

Anyway the report went on to talk about how it is against the law to use your computer at work for anything other than non-related work issues. So, what I was wondering is how many people use their work computer everyday for work and work only. Because when I had heard of this law it seemed outrageous to me, I understood the child porn however they said even looking up sports scores, or for a better analogy, going to this site is illegal during work and could get you jail time. Now I am sure it is not a law that gets followed all that much because practically anybody using a computer at work uses it for other things too. However, it seems stupid that this law wouldn't be in greater detail knowing how many people use their work computer for extracurricular activities. So my question doesn't pertain to the child porn dude as noted above, but rather is it ethical to use your computer at work for non-related work issues? (I am taking in account though the fact that everyone on here will most likely be bias because your all using a computer and probably a good majority of you are at your work as you are reading this. But could you make the connection that like a phone which if you just talk all day to your friends on would most likely get your fired is kind of similar to looking up health tips and sports stats on the internet.)

[Fr_Chuck]

If you are a city or state employee they may well have "rules" I guess if the city or state passes thme they may be considered laws. That their employees can not use work computers for personal use.

Most companies have these policies in place and if not completely rules about down loads of information.

There is no blanket law that I am aware of and in general that would be a violation of rights, if there was and really not inforceable.

Most business have their own rules for computer use, and those that do business with the federal government and some state governmetns have very strict company policies about such usage.

I believe you have misunderstood the report and what may have happened was a city "law" about their employees, but there is certainly no national or international law regarding this.

[Nez]

Where I work,at a day center,you can only use one of the terminals for research,or sending an email related to work.You have to log-on,or off,with your own password,so the manager,and the assistant manager,know who was on-line,when,and for how long.You can email home,if it's an emergency,or your sending on some info link,relating to your job.Other than that,it clearly states in the job contract,which all employees have signed,"unauthorized use of office terminals,for anything other than work related,will result in a written warning.Any pornography,gaming,betting,illegal p2p downloading will result in a criminal investigation,plus instant dismissal".
I have to say that in the fourteen years at my current place of work,noone has ever been sacked,or disciplined,for the misuse,or behaviour towards staff members,clients,visitors,or misusing of PC terminals.We went on-line back in the old days of Windows 95,and have progressed with all later editions ever since.
As far as "international law" is concerned,each country has it's own policy,and each city likewise I suppose.Here in the UK,if caught doing anything illegal,your very likely to get a "ring of the doorbell" by the authorities.We have here in the UK,local "specialist" teams,which look for anything out of the ordinary with email (due to a deal with national isp's.).Anyone suspected of unnatural behaviour,will quickly see the consequences of their actions.

[Fr_Chuck]

I have fired people from my office before, not as much for using the net, but for looking at porn and downloading porn. We monitor everones internet usage, what sites are visited and the such.

It is not illegal for them to use it for personal business but it is against company rules. We have them sign a paper informing them that the computors are for company business only and that down loading any material can result in termination. For the first offense.

Most large companies have a program on the network to tell them who is using, where they are going and so on. It is very common

[wizzkid89]

I am glad for the responses, but I am 90% positive that they said something about an internet law, I will continue my research on it and if I find it will let you guys know.

[ScottGem]

First, The Internet isn't owned by any one entity. That's one of the great things and problems with it. So there is no such think as an Internet law. Each legislative area can set laws over use of the Internet the same way they can over other communication media.

There are some organizations that do have some control over parts of the Internet. For example ICANN which manages the domain naming process. Other regional groups manage distribution of IP addresses. There was a recent conference (in Tunis I think), that left control of ICANN in US hands but agreed to provide a transisition to a more international body.

There is and CAN be no US law that says it would be illegal to use a computer for non-work uses. That would be the same as saying it would be illegal to use your office phone for a personal call. Such a law would have civil libertarians in an uproar and rightly so.

Each company, however, has the right to restrict use of company facilities in any way they want. Most larger companies and many smaller ones have a published computer use policy. Such policies define what can and can't be done. They mostly state that company computer facilities can only be used for company business.

However, most companies do turn a blind eye to many non business uses. I doubt if an employee would be disciplined for checking a weather or traffic report. As long as the privilege isn't abused most companies allow you to shop online.

All companies would draw the line at using your PC to commit illegal acts like kiddy porn, drug distribution etc. And anyone stupid enough to use a company computer to look at porn sites deserves to be fired.

It really a matter of prudence. You are being paid to be in the office and do your job. If you are spending lots of time doing things other than your job you are risking termination. It doesn't matter whether those things are surfing the WEB or hanging out at the water cooler.

[jduke44]

I work for NYS and their rules which could be state law is not to use the computer for personal use (which I am doing right now). However, they do turn a blind eye as long as you are not abusing it. If my job required constant work and having to do things every minute I wouldn't think of using the computer for personal use. There is 2 - 3 people that work at night so we ALL do the work. Emails is a tough thing though because of viruses. Every company wants to becareful that someone isn't going to let one come through even though they usually have virus protection. I got in trouble (sorta) because I bring a flash drvie with me and it fell out of my pocket and an admin thought I was using it in the computer. My boss backed me up and said that it was approved that I was doing some programming at work and therefore required me to keep my files on this so I can bring them home. We all understood that it was only because they didn't want me to bring a virus from my own or another computer through this flash drive. I think between viruses and workers abusing the internet use this is why it may seem like a law. Bottom line, if your company says not to use it then you don't. If they are OK with occasional use then don't abuse it. Sorry for the long winded response, I suppose I didn't have to say all of this.

[Roel Zylstra]

So, what I was wondering is how many people use their work computer everyday for work and work only.

Wonder no longer: personal internet use at work.

[nymphetamine]

Well I don't think they should be doing this at wrk because don't the company have to pay for the computers? What if the employee is a big dummy and he does something that crashes the whole system? You are at work to work and not to play. I just think its not a brilliant idea.

[rkim291968]

(Wow, I like your new avatar, crankiebabie.)

It may be unlawful & unethtical to use company computer for personal use. However, honestly, how many workers can go by the rule on that? The analogy I have is that it is like 55 miles/hour speed rule on idle highway. So, use your best judgement and common sense.

But no on dowloading personal stuff. Company have every right to audit your computer usage and many actually do (my company for example). There were actual instances of people being fired after downloading questionable pictures to their computer (I am just seconding Fr_Chuck to make an emphatic point).

[fredg]

Hi,
Using your computer at work for non-work activities is up to the particular company you work for.
Some allow it, some don't.
As for the child porn being on a computer, it is used in a court of law in certain cases; especially if you are a "child molester" suspect. It seems the first search warrant obtained in some of these cases is to examine the home computer.