FDA whistle-blowers say agency violated their rights by extensively monitoring personal communications

Computerworld – A recent lawsuit filed against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is drawing attention to the question of whether employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using personal email accounts on workplace computers.

The lawsuit was filed last week by six whistle-blowers at the FDA who allege that their private emails were extensively monitored after they began complaining to lawmakers about serious irregularities in the agency’s medical device review process. 

In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the six alleged that the FDA installed spyware on their workplace computers to monitor and intercept their communications.

The complaint acknowledges that the intercepted correspondence was created, transmitted, received and viewed on government-issued computers and government-owned networks. But it noted that the email was private, password protected, and sent using third-party, non-governmental email services such as Yahoo and Gmail. Read more