Similar software to monitor federal employees in workplace/ Management Information Sys
This topic represents the fourth participation event of this class. For this topic, the subject of government workplace monitoring and the potential suppression of constitutional rights are considered. Please review the article written by Lisa Rein entitled “More prying eyes on federal workers’ computers” from the Washington Post of August 16, 2012. This article deals with the use of Spector-Soft software at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The article states: “The software, sold by SpectorSoft of Vero Beach, Fla., could do more than vacuum up the scientists’ e-mails as they complained tp lawmakers and others about medical devices they thought were dangerous. It could be programmed to intercept a tweet or Facebook post. It could snap screen shots of their computers. It could even track an employee’s keystrokes, retrieve files from hard drives, or search for key-words.” The article further states that “Government workers have long known their bosses can look over their shoulder to monitor their computer activity. But now prompted by the Wikileaks scandal and concerns over unauthorized disclosures,the government is secretly capturing a far richer, more granular picture of their communications, in real time.” The article went on to state “Federal workers’ personal computers are also increasingly seen as fair game, experts said.”
Consider the following questions:
1. Despite the appearance of a banner that informs the user that they have “no reasonable expectation of privacy,” is the use of Spector-Soft software or similar software to monitor federal employees in the workplace, ethical?
2. Does the use of Spector-Soft software “go beyond” normal workplace monitoring practices and does it hamper the content and frequency of normal employee to employee communication regarding agency work?
3. Could the data collected from the stepped up monitoring techniques be used to intimidate employees, coerce decision-making, or influence their performance appraisals?
Please address the three questions and feel free to add in other pertinent comments as you see fit!
