Beware the Internet Police..........a Utah example

[Ray Matthews]

Imagine being a librarian or government worker working for a regime that
monitors everything. Every conversation you have is recorded, monitored, and
reviewed. Everyone you have contact with is noted. Every place you visit,
everywhere you go is observed and recorded. Every entry in your diary is read.
Everything you buy or even consider buying is recorded. Every activity is noted
and stored.....24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The regime has the ability to save this visual, auditory and written data in
massive storage devices which can be searched . Data from differing databases
can be combined to produce a complete record of all your activities. Anything
that is even deemed "questionable" by the authorities is cause for termination,
or worse.

Far fetched? Consider that in the global virtual community in which we now live
more and more of our communications, buying, and personal activities take place
on the information superhighway. The separations between our personal and
professional, between our private and work lives are disappearing. The
technology now exists for Big Brother to monitor nearly every facet of our
lives. 

Have civil liberty protections kept pace with the ability of technology to
invade privacy?

Does the First Amendment, rights of privacy, and federal wiretapping laws
prevent government and businesses from invading privacy on the Internet?

Sadly, in less technologically advanced totalitarian regimes the privacy of
personal communications is safeguarded to a greater degree than in the good ol'
USA. 

Don't believe it?......READ ON

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Thursday, January 29, 1998
Utah County Clamping Down on E-Mail Abuse

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
      PROVO -- The Utah County Commission has adopted new restrictions governing
employees' e-mail and Internet privileges. 
      The panel voted Tuesday to update its Personnel Management Rules and
Regulations to include language that makes sending derogatory e-mail or 
deliberately accessing a questionable Internet site cause for termination. 
      ``This is just as serious as a heart attack,'' Commissioner David Gardner
said. ``I hope nobody loses their job over it. It's a good way to let your
emotions go and get fired.'' 
      Commissioner Jerry Grover, who has been serving as an unofficial county
e-mail policeman, said employees need to understand there is no room for
unprofessional conduct through e-mail transmissions. 
      ``It's the same as yelling at somebody,'' he said. ``It's just in a
different way.'' 
      Grover said there has not been a large problem among county employees,
``just a few isolated incidents,'' but he believes a clearly worded policy was
needed.  ``We're not responding to any big gigantic problem,'' Grover said. ``We
just want to avoid problems.'' 
      The official document says Utah County encourages work-related use of its
computers, but bars their use to send, receive or store derogatory,
pornographic, indecent or threatening transmissions, or to transmit any
confidential or proprietary county information. 
      Employees who incur any charges for personal use are responsible to pay
those bills. Employees are also being told they can expect to be routinely and
randomly monitored. 
      ``No county employee should have any expectation of privacy as to his or
her Internet usage,'' the text reads. 
      ``The county's security systems are capable of recording (for each and
every user) each World Wide Web site visit, each chat, news group, or e-mail
message, and each file transfer'' into and out of the county's internal
networks, and the county reserves the right to do so at any time.'' 
      In addition, independent software is in place to identify and block
inappropriate or sexually explicit Internet sites. An employee who accidentally
becomes connected to an inappropriate site is expected to disconnect
immediately.  Time limits can be imposed if county officials wish. 

Ray Matthews
Reference Archivist
Utah State Archives Research Center
P.O. Box 141021
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1021
Voice: (801) 538-3013; voicemail (801) 538-3341
Fax: (801) 538-3354
Email: rmatthew at state.ut.us
Internet: www.archives.state.ut.us