Vericept Company: Internet Privacy in Essay

While this may seem absurd, on the other hand, careless employees, if not monitored, could actually expose private customer data in a dangerous fashion -- an employee who accesses his work account on his computer through a wireless network in a public place could be hacked, and cause grief to a customer as well as himself.

A utilitarian might state that the greatest good for the greatest number lies in stringent scrutiny of employees -- after all, the number of people potentially harmed by security breaches is far greater than the one or two employees who must self-monitor their email more carefully.Thus employers should have the right to exercise oversight of customer data and employee use of corporate information and technology, at home and at work. But a Kantian would respond that to set such a precedent is dangerous, and leaves open the possibility that someday all workers who wish to make a living will have to consign all of their private as well as working online life to their employers......