Business e-mail does come within the subject access provisions. Have you
considered your organisations e-mail boxes with its ISP's?
It is worthwhile finding out for how long your ISP's retain the
organisations e-mail for. Your organisation is after all the data
controller of those e-mail boxes. The ISP's have argued they do not control
the data for long enough not to want to change that situation.
Going off the subject slightly there will be times when other matters over
ride the organisations right to see an employees e-mail. e.g.
communications between an employee and their union or trade association or
legal representative.
Those are some of the reasons for a clear and comprehensive organisational
e-mail policy.
Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas Rochford <[log in to unmask]>
To: DPA-List <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2000 9:44 AM
Subject: The Act and Email
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I am being asked to provide copies of all emails held under one of our
> users' accounts as part of a disclosure process under the DPA.
>
> >From what I have read, I would not consider that private emails
constitute
> 'personal data', and I do not therefore believe we have a duty to disclose
> them. I would welcome views on this!
>
> The email in question is held on a Novell Groupwise Account, and is, I'm
> told, stored in some kind of binary format anyway. This, of course, may
> present problems under the RIP Act in future.
>
> Kindest regards,
> Thomas.
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> Thomas Rochford | Phone: +44 (1223) 363271 (Cambridge)
> Director of C & IT Services | +44 (1245) 493131 (Chelmsford)
> Anglia Polytechnic University | Fax: +44 (1223) 316870 (Cambridge)
> East Road | +44 (1245) 490835 (Chelmsford)
> Cambridge CB1 1PT | EMail: [log in to unmask]
> The University is an Exempt Charity
>
>
>
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