There has been a 20% increase in the number of companies blocking employees from using social networking sites. The percentage increases in 2009 vs. 2008 of companies banning web sites by specific categories include: social networking sites, 20%; travel-related sites, 28%; restaurant/bar websites, 27%; sports-related sites, 26%; shopping sites, 26%; job search sites, 19%; and Webmail sites, 16%.
Another way of looking at these statistics is to review the total percentages of employers curtailing use of web sites by category. A full 76% of companies are currently choosing to block social networking, according to ScanSafe’s 2009 survey. Online shopping is blocked by 52% of employers, weapons-related sites by 75%, alcohol-related sites by 64%, sports sites by 51% and Webmail by 58%.
“When Web filtering first became an option for companies, we generally saw them block access to typical categories such as pornography, illegal activities and hate and discrimination,” comments Spencer Parker, director of product management at ScanSafe. “In recent months, employers are obviously wising up to the dangers and the negative impact on productivity linked to certain sites and more and more of our customers have chosen to block social networking and Webmail.”
For more information regarding controls for limiting employee Internet access, visit www.scansafe.com