By All That Is Legal
For many companies, the guidelines for private Internet and email use pose a problem. As there is no clear and binding legal foundation in Germany yet, and different laws "apply" to different situations, many companies find themselves moving within a grey zone when going online. Whether forbidden or used with permission, managers, works councils as well as IT and those responsible for the personnel have to think about a few potential legal consequences on the subject of Internet use:
The Ban
If the employer forbids private use, online media may only be used for business purposes. Monitoring this ban then becomes a problem because a ban that is not monitored is not seen as a ban anymore if there should be a dispute in a court of law. This is then called "working practice." The legitimacy of such monitoring of business Internet traffic by the employer has to be in compliance with the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). The respective federal state laws apply to public employers that fall under federal state law.
The dilemna here is that the laws are formulated in a very wishy-washy sort of way. What is certain is that bans that are not monitored by random samples, are void. This is clearly deduced from the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and the current established practice in a court of law. A situation that is not satisfying for any of the parties involved.
Permission
If the employer allows employees to use the Internet and email at the workplace also for private purposes the problems are not any fewer. In this case the German Telecommunications Act (TKG) also applies because the employer allows the employee to use the telecommunication systems for non-work related purposes. The employer acts as a telecommunication provider and the employee acts as a third party in terms of paragraph 3 of the German Telecommunications Act. This makes it irrelevant whether the employer makes the Internet available at no charge. This means that all content and connection data from Internet and email communication are protected by the privacy of telecommunications according to section 88 of the German Telecommunications Act (TKG). The employer has to make sure that the privacy of telecommunications is observed. According to section 109 paragraph 1 of the TKG the employer is also responsible for making appropriate technical arrangements and taking other necessary measures. According to the privacy of telecommunications, in this case, the employer is only allowed to see connection data to charge the costs of telecommunication services, to repair technical problems or clear up criminal offenses. In the last case, actual evidence has to be presented.
This legal circumstance leads to the employer having only very limited rights to check, because usually business and private communication not handled with any technical differentiation. This circumstance can also not be in the best interests of employers, employee representatives, those responsible for ICT nor for employees.
What to do?
According to the Avira Survey 2008 there are a few advantages to having Internet access at the workplace: Internet and email are indispensable in daily work life. Blocking access has a negative effect on the working atmosphere.
So how do you achieve open Internet access with comprehensive legal security? The solution is Aurenz's WebFox: individual terms of use make the allocation of private or business content possible any time – easy and with a click. With this directness the application areas of various legal norms are no longer a problem. The legal foundations are always complied with both with business and private use of the Internet and email.
Once installed WebFox monitors the observance of the legal norms, at all times. WebFox only releases private data under the two-man rule – for example when the authorities request them. Aurenz is the first provider worldwide who offers a simple, cost saving and motivating complete solution on this sensitive subject.