with or without my consent?
Just like they presumably own the computer you use, and any other platforms/equipment supplied so you can do your job.
Your employer pays for slack and it is a work related tool, just like your emails. If you want to have private communications then send a text. BTW they can also search your desk because, you know, it's not yours.
I'm still very confused as to why you believe that your communications over a company owned platform should/would be private.
>employers are given an exemption for calls made “in the ordinary course of business.” Courts interpret this to mean that employers can eavesdrop on all business telephone calls but cannot listen to or record messages it knows are personal.
Also:
>ECPA also applies to audio monitoring of the workplace. Employers can install recording devices in any location that is used primarily for work. But employers may not conduct audio recording of nonworking areas such as cafeterias, break rooms, or locker rooms. In practice, this means little because employers are not required to notify employees that they are being recorded and employees are unlikely to discover the hidden microphone.
So there is an obvious legal distinction between communications which are intended to be work related and those which are not. In your cafeteria example, no, they should not (assuming this article is the entire story.) However, your slack messages are not considered the same as a cafeteria conversation.
Again, I'm not a lawyer and have zero real knowledge here, but I think it's silly to expect privacy in your work provided messaging system.
Is this a generational thing? When I got my first job, there were cultural norms about not making personal calls on the company phone (this was a time when people still used paper for memos) or using company resources like copiers.
While I realize times have changed and things appear much more relaxed today, I don't understand why people would even think to use company owned devices/servers/resources for personal stuff for anything short of an emergency.
Here's another article with more information on a state by state basis [2].
[1] https://www.americanbar.org/publications/human_rights_magazi...
[2] https://www.upcounsel.com/audio-surveillance-laws-by-state
if your mobile is paid for by your employer, they have access to anything on that as well, this include texts, mms, and call logs.
Even something that has a reasonable expectation of only containing personal belongings (eg. a locker) may or may not be protected from employer search as each state in the US has slightly different rules.
For work related tools, the rules are almost entirely stacked towards having no right to privacy whether a company policy exists or not.
Don't do it on company slack then?
Whether or not this news is a surprise to you, you must already be separating concerns. At most competently run places emails/chat logs etc are logged.