Blogging about work: firing offense or protected speech?
My PoliSci professor mentioned this Washington Post article, "Free Expression Can Be Costly When Bloggers Bad-Mouth Jobs," in our class this past Friday on Internet privacy issues. It speaks of a growing phenomenon--called "getting dooced"--in which people are getting fired for posting comments about their jobs, bosses, co-workers on personal blogs. Under the current law, employers pretty much have carte blanche over employees computer usage during work hours (and it would seem, outside of work.) They can track your web activity, read your email, etc. I have some problems with this but am willing to concede that they own the machines and so what you do with them is open to scrutiny. Not to mention the fact that most companies require that you agree to and abide by Internet and email usage policies every time you log on to the network, so you kind of, by default, forfeit your right to complain. That issue aside, my concern is with employers holding their employees accountable for statements made/content posted outside of company time, in personal Web space, and using their personal computers. Why isn't this protected speech under the first amendment? I was going to say that it would be one thing if you were giving away company secrets and/or defaming individuals by name, but the issue still remains the same--to me, it's a freedom of expression that needs to be protected and not stifled. What say you?
posted by ze roberto @ 2/13/2005 08:40:00 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031780807243
Too lazy to add my own witty dialogue/hyperlink - Aimee was the first thing to appear on my computer this morning.
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It is either a vast right-wing conspiracy or she printed her business cards wrong:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-65248sy0feb14,0,2919882.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews
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I must say Rob, I'm quite at ends with this idea of blog stifling. As our "friend we may not speak of on this blog" has illustrated today,the Constitutional Freedom of protected speech does not apply to everyone, and as Fox pointed out, even your words can be used against you in the bigger picture. Simply put, I think that's shit. The ability to speak one's mind is a fundamental necessity to a fair and true democracy, and to think that one's political or social views can lead to unemployment dumbfounds me. Oh, and just so you guys know, given the Virginia GOP's current bull rush to impose their morality based legislation on me, you will start to see me lean closer to the left these days (except where money is concerned, of course).
My understanding of the first amendment as it applies to Internet speech is that it only protects you from government censorship--and that depends on the nature of the speech (for example: political speech is protected, obscenity and hate speech less so.) Apparently, there are no protections from the actions of private entities. I would like to separate the issue from speech/content created on company-owned computers and that which you create on your personal machine on your own time. In the first case, while I think it sucks that companies monitor email and Internet activity, I acknowledge that if you are using their network and their machines, you must abide by their policies. However, I have never signed a contract upon employment that prohibits me from free expression on my own time, and I think companies are overstepping their rights when they reach into an employee's private life and hold him/her liable for speech made as a private citizen (and not as an employee or representative of the company) on the Internet or otherwise. I agree wholeheartedly with Todd that free expression is the cornerstone of a truly vibrant and functional democracy. And, I think we need to be very careful to let this kind of precedent be established, especially since a lot of policy with respect to Internet speech is still in its formative stages. (And Todd, welcome to the club. Although, I hope that opposing morality-based legislation or policies that infringe on our freedom of expression doesn't turn into an exclusively "left" issue. I think everyone needs to be concerned about this, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum.)
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