Monitoring employees’ Internet and telephone use at work may contravene human rights laws in Europe, according to a ruling in a landmark case in the European Court of Human Rights last week. The case involved a public-sector employee who won $5,910 in damages and $11,820 in court costs and expenses after her communications were intercepted by her employer, Carmarthenshire College, based in South Wales. Lynette Copland successfully took the U.K. government to court after her personal Internet usage and telephone calls were monitored by one of her bosses in 1999. The ruling means that the private use of company telecommunications equipment and Internet access may be protected under European human rights legislation, if the company has an acceptable personal-use policy and fails to inform employees that their communications may be monitored.