In my opinion, employees should not be able to use the Internet while at work. Computers and networks are company property and are used exclusively for business transactions. Therefore, employers have the duty and right to ensure the correct use of all equipment. If employers so choose, they can choose to monitor Internet usage to ensure property is not abused. According to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510, et. seq., (www.law.cornell.edu/uscode), federal law allows employers to monitor business calls, however, personal calls are an exception. Under federal law, an employer has the right to monitor a call only until it realizes that it is a personal call, then it must stop monitoring. In the case Watkins v. L.M. Berry & Co., 704 F.2d 577, 583 (11th Cir. 1983), the court held that "...a manager must cease listening to an employee's call once the personal call is made." When companies first started using the Internet, they did not contemplate developing new technology policies and were very liberal about Internet use. Ultimately, allowing liberal use led to overuse of equipment and working hours. Today, people check personal email and Facebook messages (among other social networking sites), do online banking, shop, leisurely surf the web, and chat online. Employers have noted that this distraction has had a serious impact on productivity and performance. Studies show: “Currently, as many as 26 million workers in the United States are monitored in the workplace, and this number will increase as computers are used more in businesses and as the cost of these monitoring systems decreases ” (DeTienne, 1993, p. 33). "By the end of the decade, about 30 million... half the paper... will be ethical but illegal. Laws do not always meet the definition of ethics. Works Cited Aftab, P. (1996, September 30). Communication Monitoring on the Internet: Big Brother or Responsible Business? The New York Law Journal Available on the Internet: http://www.ljx.com/internet/borther.html.Alderman, L. (1994, December. ). your boss. Money, 31-32. Cornell University Law School (2011). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell. /usc_sec_18_00002510----000-.html Ithaca, NY.DeTienne, K.B. (1993, September/October).The Futurist, 27(5), 33-37.Jennings, M. (2009: Case Studies). and Selected Readings (6th edition) Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.