Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals but share common themes. When something is private to a person, it usually means that something is inherently special or sensitive to them. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security (confidentiality), which can include the concepts of appropriate use, as well as protection of information. Privacy may also take the form of bodily integrity.

Businesses use employee monitoring for various reasons. The following is a list that includes, but is not limited to:
– Find needed business information when the employee is not available.
– Protect the security of proprietary information and data.
– Prevent or investigate possible criminal activities by employees.
– Prevent personal use of employer facilities.
– Check for violations of company policy against sending an offensive or pornographic email.
– Investigate complaints of harassment.
– Check for illegal software.

According to Computer Monitoring: The Hidden War Of Control, “The employer of today has the ability and legal right to read e-mail, review files stored on a company computer, examine personal computer usage, and track individual employee computer activities. The idea of anonymous actions is an illusion. Every action between a network and the computers connected to it can be tracked. Every action by an individual worker on a computer can be tracked, analyzed, and used against the employee. The protections and freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights are there to protect the individual from the Government and do not generally apply to the normal employee/employer relationship.” To benefit the business, employers have the ability to monitor employees whenever they feel is necessary.

Employee monitoring software developers warn that in each case it is still recommended to advise a legal representative and the employees should give a written agreement with such monitoring Majority of instances are a case by case situation and is hard to treat all the issues and problems as one. With the ever-growing laws, employers shape their guidelines around the new rules and regulations that are formed in court cases.