Margaret A. Keane has
written an interesting article on the growing use of
"Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) policies by employers
whose employees use mobile devices for work purposes. These
policies trade support for employee mobile devices from the
employer's IT organization for, among other things,
regulation of "the use of mobile devices in ways that may
implicate . . . workplace policies, such as data privacy and
security, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, confidentiality
and trade secret protection, records management and compliance with
litigation holds." This trade involves a balancing of
employee privacy interests and employer needs for security.
Keane describes policies that require return of the device, or
production for inspection, upon demand by the employer, and return
of the device, with data intact, upon separation from
employment. Other authors have
recommended similar provisions.
