The publisher of the Sun and the Times is working with a smartphone data security company that will monitor websites visited by “all staff” raising the possibility that journalists will be monitored.
News UK said it is working with British company Wandera, which specialises in mobile data security and management, to roll out an app to control staff phone costs. Journalists were not expected to use the app, it said.
However, an internal email sent to staff by the technical department at News UK has raised concern among employees, with some Sun journalists even trialling the app. The email, which unveils a new mobile data monitoring system for “all staff”, said “all your traffic will pass through Wandera, whether you use the mobile for business or personal uses”.
It continued: “The Wandera system will record every website address you visit … and the volume of traffic to and from that website. Usage reports will be provided to News UK.”
News UK said there was nothing sinister about its use of Wandera and that it was an effort to cut down on “exceptionally large” mobile bills that have been run up by some staff using data-heavy streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, and catchup and live TV apps.
Staff with company phones have enjoyed unlimited data packages.
In January, the Daily Telegraph installed devices that monitored whether people were at their desks, but removed them after it was heavily criticised by the National Union of Journalists for carrying out “surveillance” on its staff.
Last June, BBC News staff voiced concerns after they were told that the corporation could track their work mobile devices after it introduced a new technical feature.
Under the new Wandera system staff affected will be limited to just 1Gb of data per month with certain services “such as video and music streaming”, only accessible when a user is connected to Wi-Fi. If a user runs over their monthly allowance, mobile access will be limited to a list of services including phone calls, social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook, maps, email and “News UK websites and applications”.
Journalists have received the email on the technical installation of Wandera, and a number have installed it already as the email states it is a system for “all” staff, but it is not understood to be for journalists on the Times and Sunday Times.
The app is understood to be aimed primarily at staff in corporate and back-office roles. “Like most large companies, News UK has introduced a limit to the amount of mobile data that can be used on company devices,” said a spokeswoman for News UK. “Once the limit is reached, certain work-related sites can still be accessed. Wi-Fi access remains unlimited and some staff are exempt depending on their role.”
News UK said the Wandera app was not being used in any way to track or monitor staff but purely to cut down on mobile phone bills.
