-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Black Unicorn wrote:
Remember when the phone company used to lease you your phone? Surely that doesn't make the data that goes over the phone their property? If my doctor calls me at work with the results of a critical test, you believe that data is no longer private? I hope not. You think whatever goes on in a rental car I drive is the property of the rental company? That if some company rented the car they are entitled to read whatever papers I have in there? What about a hotel? A leased apartment? A restraunt back room? I challenge the "ownership gives the owner the right to all that occurs or is produced on or in the property" premise because it is just not a valid one, legally or (in my opinion) ethically.
Mr. Avon is talking about agreements, I believe, although he is using the private property approach to argue that there is certainly a meeting of the minds between the two parties. It seems reasonable that employees may agree to give up their rights, for example their inalienable right to stay at home and watch TV, in exchange for employment. When the employment agreement is at will, as most are, it seems reasonable that the company may change it whenever it pleases: "If you wish to continue working here, you will have to let the company read your mail." This is complicated by the bizarre legal environment which employers face in the United States. In practice one would have difficulty terminating an employee by changing the "at will" agreement. More generally, it seems a good guess that Mr. Avon would not object to an agreement with a company in which the company was able to continuously monitor the employees communications or activities. (This is why the private property approach can confuse people: this is not the core issue.)
[I'm not on cypherpunks anymore, anyone there who wants to put me through the wringer without having to endure my response might not want to CC: me.]
Guess you miss out, then. ;-) Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNDh325aWtjSmRH/5AQFfWwf/RfjQ38YvvqNAxkcSTWKhFM09fySjgCvG PlSrimP30jC/dWHAH3iZavS5fn8LE+rfHSHBy5UZyE6xyuyAsJHpMYXDjoQ7gMau vKWHCPCKoxNoi/UNFJ6FQXAEy3o+nBp1pRVupOr/gGFaegCd0tglEyzxCEiFguOf utUGX2X7C5wK2Lwhe+lVJqqlvzkwLXt9UKYzanJc8LZmlAjmcmrPySXC+KSnvfve YHGGqD6+jxxqNxqRVpvCpO4JeJ8O+95O3oCxrOKg7b5SwtOo21qnxkBkFNGyuTq9 YGzQJs/0Ha8Gr9Vk+QiT5CjUAdw+N/uahaPkNWjf1f4SztKpz3y0ZA== =FlvU -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----