Privacy, Data And Employee Monitoring

In overturning a 2016 judgment, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that a Romanian company violated an individual's right to privacy when it monitored his computer activity. The decision in the case of Barbulescu v. Romania has far reaching implications for both employers and employees and clarifies that an individual's right to a private life and privacy continues to exist in a workplace context, even if those rights might be restricted. The ruling sets boundaries for monitoring versus privacy rights.  

The decision overturned a 2016 judgment which had sided with his former employer who had terminated his employment following a disciplinary process. His former employer had intercepted and monitored Mr. Barbulescu's use of a Yahoo Messenger account which he had created, at the request of his employer, to communicate with clients.