According to a statement on his web site, he wants a new law to
“provide the same privacy in law for e-mails as currently exists
for conventional mail and telephone calls” in light of the
increased number of employers who routinely monitor their
employees' e-mail to check whether systems are being used for
business or private purposes.
Fabricant said:
"While I appreciate that employers need to
be satisfied that their employees are working during the hours for
which they are paid, it does not give them the right to snoop into
the private e-mails of their employees.
"My change to the law would give the same
protection to e-mails as already exists for conventional mail and
telephone calls. E-mails could still be monitored by the police and
security services to counter crime and terrorism, provided that
they have first obtained a court warrant. This system works
satisfactorily for phone taps and the same safeguards should exist
for e-mail communication too."
However, Fiona Caskey of Masons' data protection and information
law team said:
"It's hard to know what is being proposed
here. If the intention is to clarify the existing law on monitoring
employee e-mail, then it will be most welcome. However, the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act has already introduced such
protections for e-mail.
"Employers are currently prohibited from
intercepting their employees' private emails, unless they have the
consent of both the sender and receiver, which is virtually
impossible to obtain in relation to external senders. If the
proposal is to do away with even this consent ground for
monitoring, it is likely to be met by strong opposition by
employers."
