The Article 29 Working Party has examined in this working document the issue of the monitoring and surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace, in other words, the monitoring by the employer of e-mail and Internet use by workers.

The purpose of this code of practice is to provide guidance on the protection of workers’ personal data. It has no binding force and does not replace national laws, regulations,international labour standards or other accepted standards. It can be used in the development of legislation, regulations, collective agreements, work rules, policies and practical measures at enterprise level.