Think twice before spying on mate's computers

from JoeUser Forums
Things become more twisted by the day in the world of legal rights and wrongs.

Apparently one spouse's right to privacy trumps another's right to be made aware of acts of adultry, malfeasance, fraud and/or deceipt, at least according to the judges that have been deciding these cases.

Honestly, I'm not sure that I would say the judges are wrong, as I feel pretty strongly that all individuals do have a right to privacy, but at the same time a marriage or relationship is a partnership and partners have special obligations to their partners that may, just may, over ride that right to privacy. Letting cheating spouses continue on their merry way and making it harder to obtain evidence of such cheating -- especially in a day and age when the cheating spouse could wind up getting an STD that could quite literally wind up being a death sentence to their partners -- seems dangerous to me too. I'm sure that private investigators are happy that their little corner of the world's commerce is protected to some extent, but again is this all the right answer for everyone?

Anyway, original article can be found here: News.com.com Police Blotter
politics
2,523 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Btw, I would still suggest that maintaining a good relationship with a spouse or partner is the best way to avoid the types of problems that spying on their computer are meant to deal with. If you have a relationship where you can truly trust your spouse or partner, and the lines of communication remain open, then you shouldn't have to worry about them straying to begin with.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top

I could have used that against my ex (she was always reading my mail looking for proof I was cheating.  She never found any of course).

Glad I did not break the law.

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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I couldn't access the article, but I'm curious what designated the computer as being one person's or another's? There's not a piece of technology in our house that either my husband or I could claim as solely our own. How does a spouse manage that?
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hmmm, link worked fine for me, but you can go directly to the original site by going to http://news.com.com

Look for the article titled: Police blotter: Husband spies on wife's computer


As to labelling the property, I really don't know how that would be decided either, though in my house the computers are somewhat designated his/his/hers/sons (4 computers designated in that order).
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top

Hmmm, link worked fine for me, but you can go directly to the original site by going to http://news.com.com

Worked for me as well, but then we both frequent the site as it is a tech site.  Maybe it snoops the computer and does not let newbies in?

Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Link didn't work for me and I'm a regular visitor there. I found the story anyway.

I believe the thinking here is that it's the same idea as opening your spouse's mail or recording their phone conversations. A definate no-no.