Would you let your employer read your private LinkedIn messages? Some companies are now requiring this for “compliance” reasons, and it got me thinking: how much personal information would you be willing to share with your employer? Private Facebook messages, WhatsApp, Twitter?
I can understand that in regulated industries there is a need to monitor employee messages sent on company property, and for many years now, emails and phone calls have been recorded and archived in case they are required by law. The requirement to allow access to more personal content, such as LinkedIn private messages, may be a step too far.
For emails and phone calls between clients, you can assume, especially in regulated industries that these can be intercepted however I’d imagine that those people I message privately would assume that I’m the only person who can view them. There are possibly GDPR issues and data protection issues here.
Would you permit your employer total access to your social media and communications channels? When it comes to LinkedIn, many recruiters use private messages to sound out candidates, so would I want my employer to know I was looking to leave?
It’s a tricky issue when you pass it through the compliance lens. The LIBOR scandal in the UK a few years ago centred on the use of private messaging apps such as WhatsApp to circumvent monitoring rules, leading to an outright ban on WhatsApp.
This latest move to require access to LinkedIn messages will cause a stir in regulated markets. What is your view?
Early indications on my LinkedIn poll on the subject show that most people don’t like the idea.
