Sinclair to block Internet access for employees

[mvcg66b3r]

In January 2015, the New York Times did a story about how the Chinese government was taking more steps to block Internet access for their citizens. The Communist government blocked access to Gmail, Flickr and a number of other websites.

In January 2016, Sinclair Broadcast Group is going to do the same thing to their staffers. Sinclair is based out of Maryland, but it seems they might do well in China as well.

In an internal email sent to staffers and obtained exclusively by FTVLive, Sinclair has told them that Internet access will be blocked to many sites that the company deems "unacceptable."

This includes Yahoo, Gmail, Hulu and Netflix along with porn sites. We're guessing that the Sinclair bosses will still have access to the porn.

http://www.ftvlive.com/todays-news/2015/12/6/sinclair-to-block-access-to-the-internet-for-employees

 

[KeithE4]

Nothing unusual here -- in fact it's very common. Sinclair owns the network and the PCs on its properties, and they have the right to regulate their use as they see fit.

 

[umfan]

Ditto what Keith said. I'm sure if there is a business need for access to a site, this can be requested to management.

 

[TheBigA]

Someone did a study of how much work time is wasted surfing the net, and it was pretty amazing.

 

[frankberry]

The News departments use the internet all the time. I'm sure that certain computers will be granted internet access.

 

[newsmark]

Even news could live without Hulu and Netflix. But the others are pretty valuable for news.

Then, as far as being able to access your own mail through gmail... yeah the companies CAN say they you can't check your personal email, but that's counterproductive. If you're expected to be on call and watch your work email when you're NOT on work, then it's really not a lot to ask to be able to check your personal email once in a while.

 

[TheBigA]

Then again, they're not banning your personal phone, and that's where the personal email account should be routed.

In point of fairness, if companies are going to prevent checking personal email on work computers, you should have the right to ignore company emails on personal devices. Fortunately this is not a problem for me, but I know of companies that want to be able to text work information on your personal phone, and unless they're paying for it, that shouldn't be done.

 

[ShawnHill1]

I work in an office too where internet use is monitored and sites are blocked. It's no different than most other office settings; usually if I check my personal e-mail, then I usually use my cell phone for that or wait until I get home.

Sinclair, by reputation, is notorious for many things, but they're operating no different than any other corporate structure in this particular situation.