I've never been in court before or stood in a witness box, and I hope I never do. If I am, however, called before a judge, I’d expect him or her to be donning a funny wig and a gown, to be above average intelligence, and to judge my case fairly according to the law of the land. What I would not expect is for that judge to be indulging while in the office, as these District Judges have done. Four of Her Majesty’s finest have been caught watching porn on judicial owned IT equipment.
While, the material didn't contain illegal content or child images, it’s easy to see why the case has attracted so much media attention. I mean, it’s the kind of behaviour you would expect from a group of lads on a stag, not from a District Judge!
Now the shoe is on the other foot, and questions will be asked about how a porn culture was allowed to develop at the highest levels of justice. Poor web usage controls and lack of communication were more than likely to blame. But speculation aside, the world may have passed the point where opportunity can remain unrestricted to allow things like this to happen. Employees, especially those in high positions, are more vulnerable and need protection.
So here are 5 important lessons on web filtering from 4 District Judges:
1. Know Your Organisational Risk – The highest levels of staff pose the highest risk to the organisation. Failures on their part risk the credibility of the whole organisation.
2. Recognise Individual Risk – While not always the case, veteran leadership may be the least computer literate and risk stumbling into ill-advised territory accidentally.
3. Communicate with Staff – Notification of acceptable use policies can go a long way to getting everyone on the same page and help with legal recourse when bad things do happen.
4. Be Proactive – Use a web filter for what’s not acceptable instead of leaving that subject matter open to traffic. If you still want to give your staff some flexibility, try out a limit-to-quota feature.
5. Trust No One (Blindly) – Today’s internet environment makes a blind, trust-based relationship foolish. There is simply too much shady stuff out there and much of it is cleverly disguised.
If there is anyone out there who’s reading and thinking, “this would never happen in my organisation; my staff would never do that”, think again, my friend. Nobody is perfect; the ability to look at inappropriate content knows no bounds, including the heights of hierarchy. We’re all potential infringers, as proved by Judges Timothy Bowles, Warren Grant, Peter Bullock and Andrew Maw.
