[119264] in Cypherpunks
California Governor Rejects Anti-Snooping Law
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Secret Squirrel)
Wed Oct 20 16:44:02 1999
Date: 20 Oct 1999 20:21:09 -0000
From: Secret Squirrel <secret_squirrel@nym.alias.net>
Message-ID: <a9c19264d4ddc72c7d2757f7715e96bc@anonymous>
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Reply-To: Secret Squirrel <secret_squirrel@nym.alias.net>
From <http://www.cpuniverse.com/news/news101199.shtml#calif>
California Governor Rejects Anti-Snooping Law
California governor Gray Davis last week declined to sign into law a
bill that would have prevented California employers from monitoring
employees' e-mail messages at work without informing them in writing
first.
A Newsbytes article quoted a letter from the governor to state senators
that said monitoring by employers is something "any employee should
assume is the employer's right when they accept employment." The letter
stated that the bill created "unnecessary and complicating obligations"
for companies, and that its enactment would lead to "litigation by
affected employees over whether the required notice was provided,
when, in what form, and similar quibbling."
State senator Deborah Bowen, a sponsor of the bill, compared
electronic supervision to "[spying] on workers in changing rooms and
restrooms," and asked why employers should then "have the right to
ransack their employees' private electronic files without having to tell
them it's company policy?"
The bill passed 40-0 in the California Senate and 65-11 in the
Assembly.
