The problem of employees downloading unauthorised music, games,
video, software and other digital content in the workplace is being
addressed by two US technology companies who predict that their
solution benefit both content providers and employers by providing
a “proactive defence against legal liabilities”.
Websense, known for its employee monitoring software, and
digital rights management (DRM) provider Macrovision announced
their strategic partnership this week.
According to a recent report from Jupiter Media Metrix cited by
the companies, only 16% of home users (in the US) have high-speed
internet access. By contrast, 57% of employees at work with
internet access use a broadband connection (again, in the US) –
which makes the office system a popular location for downloading
large files.
The first product from the partnership is expected to be
launched in the second half of 2003. It promises to “help shield
employers from potential legal liabilities by searching company
servers and hard drives for copyrighted content found to have copy
protection elements removed or bypassed.” Other products will
monitor downloads.
Businesses have been held liable for allowing illegal
copyrighted materials in their workplaces. In a recent case that
was settled out of court, music indutry body the RIAA won $1
million in damages from an Arizona-based company for storing
illegal MP3s on its network. In addition, the Business Software
Alliance consistently wins high financial penalties from companies
around the world caught using unlicensed software, much of which is
downloaded from the internet.
However, searching the files of employees raises privacy
issues.
