I was looking over an excellent example of a law blog today, PIPEDA. This one covers privacy issues, which is not something I think about too much but I should. The author is David Fraser, a Canadian privacy lawyer.
In one post he raises some meaningful issues about intranet yellow pages and phone lists that certainly would apply to expert locators and other related aspects of KM.
“EContentMag.com has an interesting article on some of the legal issues related to cross-border corporate intranets that "disclose" information about employees. If you think an internal phone list wouldn't be a big deal, think again ... “
Legality and the International Intranet: "The problem for intranet managers is that intranets often provide information about the activities of the staff, and exchange information on staff with specific expertise and knowledge. Adding photographs of employees to their profile on the intranet is usually regarded as very useful. However, a photograph reveals all sorts of personal information and, according to the Directive, a photo should only be posted with the explicit consent of the individual..."
I have been involved in a number of these as part of a broader KM effort. At the time the Legal group within the organization was very interested with what we were doing but more concerned with customer privacy and securing intellectual property of the business than these personal privacy issues, that are equally important.
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