Response to the White House OSTP's Request for Information on Automated Worker Surveillance and Management
home.coworker.org
"[T]hese products pose a variety of risks and harms for workers that extend beyond privacy, and go into economic well-being, health, including mental health."
  • The Rise of “Little Tech”: Small startups and SaaS vendors—often backed by Silicon Valley venture capital—are leading the charge in AI-powered workplace surveillance, embedding tracking tools into everyday HR and productivity software.
  • Global Surge, Local Collapse: While countries like Brazil, Mexico, and India have privacy laws on paper, enforcement is weak, allowing both domestic and foreign vendors to deploy invasive technologies unchecked.
  • Gig Workers as Guinea Pigs: Gig economy workers in sectors like delivery and rideshare are the frontline subjects of AI surveillance, subjected to real-time tracking, biometric scans, and even models that predict union activity.
  • Surveillance Disguised as Care: AI surveillance is increasingly framed as a tool for safety, wellness, and productivity—masking coercive oversight in the language of health and efficiency.
  • Privacy Theater: Many vendors offer copy-paste privacy notices while quietly retaining worker data indefinitely. In countries like Mexico and Colombia, some companies even conduct home visits and collect data on workers’ families.
  • Workers are Fighting Back: From sanitation workers in India to ride-hail drivers in Nigeria, workers are resisting algorithmic control—organizing protests, forming unions, and demanding AI transparency.
  • PartyAt15thAndSummit@lemmy.zipEnglish
    9·
    3 days ago

    Reminder that any sort of workplace surveillance is outright illegal in some EU countries. It could even be considered a criminal act.

  • KeenFlame@feddit.nuEnglish
    15·
    3 days ago

    Yeah this is big brother still. It refers as much to a single entity as it does to an actual older sibling.

  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.orgEnglish
    15·
    4 days ago

    The full report

    These are all important points and it sounds like a summary of everything that is wrong in IT wonderland.

    I guess the report goes into more detail, I guess they needed some nice headline to wrap it in, but - I wonder where they draw the line between “Big” and “Little” tech or why it’s supposed to be a big gotcha that not only the biggest corporations employ outright evil tactics, exploit workers globally.

  • Colloidal@programming.devEnglish
    4·
    3 days ago

    While countries like Brazil, Mexico, and India have privacy laws on paper, enforcement is weak, allowing both domestic and foreign vendors to deploy invasive technologies unchecked.

    So they’re doing just as well as the US?

  • untakenusername@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    10·
    4 days ago

    big brother isn’t the future

    its a wonderful, wholesome, big family we can expect, everyone watching everyone else

    which isn’t much better ngl

  • Bababasti@feddit.orgEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    **Workers are Fighting Back**: From sanitation workers in India to ride-hail drivers in Nigeria, workers are resisting algorithmic control—organizing protests, forming unions, and demanding AI transparency.

    You love to see it <3 Hope the IWW or similar organizations will gain some momentum here.