The prediction, in brief:

The use of e-mail raises interesting privacy issues. In the case of e-mail, privacy issues arise when people lose control over the dissemination of their mail messages. When should managers be allowed to read the e-mail of their subordinates? One can readily conjure instances where managers would seek access to e-mail files.

Predictor: Kling, Rob

Prediction, in context:

In a 1994 article for Computer-Mediated Communication, Rob Kling, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, writes:”The use of e-mail raises interesting privacy issues. In the case of e-mail, privacy issues arise when people lose control over the dissemination of their mail messages. When should managers be allowed to read the e-mail of their subordinates? One can readily conjure instances where managers would seek access to e-mail files. These can range from curiosity (such as when a manager wonders about subordinates’ gossip, and requests messages which include his name in the message body), through situations in which a legal agency subpoenas mail files as part of a formal investigation. A different, but related set of issues can occur when a manager seeks mail profiles: lists of people who send more than N messages a day, lists of people who read a specific bulletin board or the membership of a specific mailing list.”

Date of prediction: January 1, 1994

Topic of prediction: Communication

Subtopic: E-mail

Name of publication: Computer-Mediated Communication

Title, headline, chapter name: Fair Information Practices with Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1994/jun/cscw.html

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Butler, Lawrence