Most employers have some type of Internet use policy that says, among other things, employees can’t use the Internet to view or download pornography, send offensive messages, and engage in other activity that could constitute harassment or other unlawful conduct.  These policies usually provide that the employer has the right to monitor the email of employees and the way in which employees are using the Internet at work.  Some employers conduct routine audits of computer and Internet use.  Why?  To make sure the policy is being complied with–and for another reason as well.

As articulated in the Washington Post article found below, there is a major crackdown underway on child pornography.  Although too complicated to address in this post, federal law and some state laws make employers and employer representatives criminally liable for allowing employees to have child pornography on their computers at work.

If it’s found on an employee’s work computer by law enforcement, it’s conceivable that you could be charged with a crime even though you didn’t know about it.  It’s more conceivable that you could be charged with a crime if you know about it and don’t do anything.  And I’m not talking about removing it from your system, as that could constitute the destruction of evidence of a crime.  I’m not even talking about firing the employee.  I’m talking about calling law enforcement (the FBI has a department focused solely on child pornography), reporting what you suspect, and allowing law enforcement to check it out.  If it’s not child pornography, the FBI will thank you for your good intentions.  At that point, you’ll want to deal with the employee in accordance with your policy and remove what’s been determined to be adult pornography from your system.

If you have never dealt with this kind of situation before, don’t do anything until you’ve consulted with your lawyer.  You want to make sure you’re dotting all i’s and crossing all t’s.

Crackdown on Child Pornography
Federal Action, Focused on Internet, Sets Off a Debate
(By Jerry Markon, The Washington Post)