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they decided to hire a personal nanny, even though it was more expensive. After their
daughter was born, Peggy spent three months at home on maternity leave. During this
time she interviewed a half dozen nannies and hired one after carefully checking her
references and giving Jim the opportunity to interview her as well.
Just before the end of Peggy's maternity leave, she has coffee with a few a her
friends who are all mothers of young children. The friends tell Peggy horror stories about
abusive nannies, and they all recommend a software program called LiveSecurityWatch.
Jim and Peggy purchase LiveSecurityWatch and install it on a laptop computer placed
in the family room. With the system in place, Jim and Peggy can use their workplace
computers to see and hear how the nanny interacts with their baby. The nanny has no
idea that the Sullivans' computer is being used as a surveillance system.
Is it wrong for Jim and Peggy Sullivan to secretly monitor the behavior of their
baby's nanny?
RULE UTILITARIAN EVALUATION
If all parents monitored their nannies or child care providers and took actions when
warranted, such as firing nannies who did not perform well, it is unlikely such monitor-
ing would remain a secret for long. Under these circumstances, nannies would be much
more careful to be on their best behavior. This would potentially have the long-term ef-
fects of reducing the instances of child abuse and increasing the peace of mind of parents.
On the other hand, the harms of the monitoring would be significant in terms of increas-
ing the stress and reducing the job satisfaction of nannies and child care providers. After
all, who wants to be monitored constantly? These negative aspects of the job could lead
to an increased turnover rate of nannies. Less experienced nannies might well provide
lower-quality care to the babies they tend. The harms of having all parents monitoring
their nannies or child care providers appear to be greater than the benefits. Hence we
conclude it is wrong for the Sullivans to secretly monitor their nanny.
SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY EVALUATION
Social contract theory emphasizes the adoption of rules that rational people would agree
to accept because they are to everyone's mutual benefit, as long as everyone else follows
the rules as well. As we discussed earlier in this section, privacy is a prudential right.
It is reasonable for society to give privacy to people in their own homes, and it is also
reasonable for family members within each home to give each other some privacy as
well. The nanny wouldn't expect her interactions with the baby in a park or a grocery
store to be private, but it is reasonable for her to expect privacy when taking care of the
baby inside the Sullivans' home. Hence the Sullivans' decision to secretly monitor the
nanny was wrong because it violated her right to privacy.
KANTIAN EVALUATION
Let's consider the morality of acting according to the rule: “An employer may secretly
monitor the work of an employee who works with vulnerable people.” To evaluate
the rule using the first formulation of the Categorical Imperative, we universalize it.
What would happen if every employer secretly monitored the work of employees who
worked with vulnerable people? If that were the case, then employees who worked
