The Rise of Employee Monitoring in the Digital Age of Remote Work: Challenges to Privacy and Fundamental Rights - Dr Adam Molnar

Event Date: 23 August 2023

Speaker: Dr Adam Molnar, University of Waterloo, Canada

Time: 3.00pm to 5.00 pm

Location: Stenhouse Wing, Room 1.05 or online (please contact sbs-weo@strath.ac.uk )

Abstract:

The rise of employee monitoring in the digital age of remote work has raised significant challenges to privacy and the protection of fundamental rights. As businesses increasingly turn to powerful “off-the-shelf” software applications that track GPS location, browser usage, and a broad swathe of real-time device activities to manage remote workforces, the boundaries between work and personal spaces become blurred. This heightened surveillance in remote workplaces raises important issues regarding privacy, cybersecurity, and the protection of fundamental rights in the modern workplace.

This talk presents a comprehensive research project into employee monitoring applications that is being undertaken in Canada and the UK. By integrating methods and findings from computer science, law, and sociology, this presentation will share insights on interdisciplinary teamwork. It will also present initial findings on the legal and regulatory concerns surrounding the use of employee monitoring applications in the UK, specifically concerning the appropriate protection of worker privacy, data security, and human rights protections at work.

This presentation is particularly relevant for a diverse range of scholars interested in questions of technology and regulation, and for those interested in exploring the use of technical research methods in the social sciences and law.

Biography:

Adam Molnar is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and is an executive member of the Waterloo Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute. He is currently a British Academy Visiting Fellow at the University of Strathclyde Law School.  

Published: 2 August 2023