This is no different than expecting an employee to behave in an appropriate fashion while on work property. No employee should be able to use fowl language, be abusive, use substances, etc. while working. I do have some concerns, however, with the above noted companies that eight companies reported they would read and review these electronic transactions if they receive other information that an individual may have violated company policies. First, a company should be very careful on how they gain information about another employee. The term "other information" is very broad. I would hope that there would have to be considerable concern before an employee is investigated. Second, a company has to recognize that electronics like anything else can be altered. Not to be paranoid, but people will do strange things against someone else if angry, jealous, offended in any way. Third, it is hoped that the employee under question would be notified immediately if there was any "other information" received on him/her regarding inappropriate e-mail/Internet usage.

The other concern I have is inconsistency. Too often, companies mean well by implanting a scheduled program: All new hires will see a video about privacy issues. However, new supervisors come and go and somehow this program is lost or forgotten. New employees are hired without ever seeing the video or reading anything on the privacy policy. They therefore cannot be held accountable. The fact that some companies only have a review of this information every two years is disconcerting -- that is a very long time when there is always large turnover and issues of concern.

The best way of handling this issue,...

This is a constant reminder to employees, which they cannot ignore. Also, it deals with the new hire/turnover issue. Anyone who is logging on, regardless as a new or veteran employee will be alerted to the privacy issue. However, this should not take the place of employee training on a regular, scheduled basis, so the topic can be thoroughly covered and all concerns and questions answered.
Lastly, this should be a two-way agreement. Employers also need to be completely forthright and provide the following information to all employees.

The employer should say what personal information it collects from employees such as e-mail, medical records, performance reviews, etc., why it collects it, and what it does with it.

Collection, use, and disclosure of personal information should be done only with the employee's knowledge and consent.

The employer should only collect information that is necessary for its stated purpose, and collect it by fair and lawful means.

The employer should utilize or disclose personal information only for the purposes for which it is collected and keep it only as long as it is required for those purposes, unless it has the employee's acceptance to do something else with it, or is legally required to use or disclose it for other reasons.

The employees' personal information needs to be accurate, complete, and up-to-date.

Employees should be able to access their personal information and challenge its accuracy and completeness.