Privacy in Public vs. An Alleged Affair

Many of you may have seen the footage from a Coldplay concert that went viral last week. A “kiss-cam”-like camera caught two people hugging on the Jumbo-tron. So what, you ask? Couples always show up on concert cameras, especially if footage is being used for a concert video. Problem was… the two people weren’t just embarrassed, but, as time would tell, should not have been standing together in a spooning-style embrace.

Internet junkies quickly figured out that they were the CEO and chief people officer of a little-known tech company, called Astronomer. When they saw themselves on the big screen, her jaw dropped, her hands flew to her face and she spun away from the camera. He ducked out of the frame, as did she. Naturally, the assumption, because we all seem to love naughty stories, is that they were having an affair. Records seem to indicate that both are married... but to other people.

Astronomer, based in New York, provides big companies with a platform that helps them organize their data. While the company said little at first, apparently they didn't like the situation after having had time to come up with a response.

Astronomer addressed the situation, announcing in a LinkedIn post, that the man had been placed on leave, and that the board of directors had launched a formal investigation. Eventually, the man “resigned”. I have yet to find of what, if anything, happened to the woman.

The company stated, “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

Here’s my problem with that. In a free country, what one does outside of the workplace, (unless it’s the intentional degrading of the company one is working for), should be none of the company’s business. One should be allowed to drink, smoke marijuana, go skydiving, and yes, have an affair if that’s what was happening.

As long as one shows up for work every day and does their job according to the quality/quantity specified, and they’re not doing anything obviously illegal outside of work, then the policy should be a Metallica song title, “Nothing Else Matters”. It didn’t when I hired someone.

This should be a reminder to us all. Once you leave your house, you lose all of your right to privacy - at least until such invasion constitutes harassment. Cameras are everywhere, just as the eyes of the public are. Assume you are being watched and act accordingly.