According to a statement on his web site, he wants a new law to “provide the same privacy in law for e-mails as currently exists for conventional mail and telephone calls” in light of the increased number of employers who routinely monitor their employees' e-mail to check whether systems are being used for business or private purposes.
Fabricant said:
"While I appreciate that employers need to be satisfied that their employees are working during the hours for which they are paid, it does not give them the right to snoop into the private e-mails of their employees.
"My change to the law would give the same protection to e-mails as already exists for conventional mail and telephone calls. E-mails could still be monitored by the police and security services to counter crime and terrorism, provided that they have first obtained a court warrant. This system works satisfactorily for phone taps and the same safeguards should exist for e-mail communication too."
However, Fiona Caskey of Masons' data protection and information law team said:
"It's hard to know what is being proposed here. If the intention is to clarify the existing law on monitoring employee e-mail, then it will be most welcome. However, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act has already introduced such protections for e-mail.
"Employers are currently prohibited from intercepting their employees' private emails, unless they have the consent of both the sender and receiver, which is virtually impossible to obtain in relation to external senders. If the proposal is to do away with even this consent ground for monitoring, it is likely to be met by strong opposition by employers."