tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29325511734776557402011-04-21T17:36:38.818-07:00PWnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2932551173477655740.post-80140336175014236542008-08-28T15:25:00.000-07:002008-08-28T16:10:41.548-07:00Over the summer of 2008, all 32 London Boroughs and the City of London were asked to supply details under the Freedom of Information Act of any restrictions they place on the use of social networking websites by their employees.<br /><br />The survey revealed that a majority of authorities now ban staff from accessing sites such as Facebook and MySpace, while others place severe restrictions on the practice. Only a small minority claim to place no restrictions on the sites.<br /><br />A summary of responses is shown below. Boroughs excluded from the list have produced no response to the request within the statutory time limit.<br /><br /><strong>City of London</strong><br />Access blocked, except for a few employees with legitimate work reasons to use sites.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Barking &amp; Dagenham</strong><br />No access during working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Bexley</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Brent</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Bromley</strong><br />Access allowed, within reasonable usage guidelines.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Camden</strong><br />Staff banned from sites during working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Croydon</strong><br />Access allowed, but only outside working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Ealing</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Hackney</strong><br />Access blocked unless staff can demonstrate a legitimate business need.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Hammersmith &amp; Fulham</strong><br />Access allowed, but only outside working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Haringey</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Havering</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Islington</strong><br />Access allowed, but only outside working hours.<br /><br /><strong>Royal Borough of Kensington &amp; Chelsea</strong><br />Access allowed.<br /><br /><strong>Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames</strong><br />Access allowed, although a requirement for all web surfing to be work-related.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Lambeth</strong><br />Technical solution to block the sites due to be implemented in coming months.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Lewisham</strong><br />Access allowed.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Newham</strong><br />Access allowed, outside normal working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Redbridge</strong><br />Access allowed, but only outside core working hours.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Richmond</strong><br />Access blocked.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Southwark</strong><br />Access blocked, although granted to individuals where a legitimate case can be made.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Sutton</strong><br />Access allowed, although staff must have a legitimate business purpose.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Tower Hamlets</strong><br />Access not permitted, unless it supports the business of the council.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Waltham Forest</strong><br />Access not permitted.<br /><br /><strong>London Borough of Wandsworth</strong><br />Access blocked, but privileges granted to staff with legitimate business case (eg. the promotion of leisure events).<br /><br /><strong>Westminster City Council</strong><br />Access blocked.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2932551173477655740-8014033617501423654?l=p40bfoi.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PWnoreply@blogger.com0