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How companies surveil workers and ways employees can protect themselves | The TechTank Podcast

A man wearing a protective face mask walks under surveillance cameras as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

TechTank, a biweekly podcast from the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings, explores today’s most consequential technology issues. Moderators Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West speak with experts and policymakers to share data, ideas, and policy solutions that address the challenges of our digital world.

Today, under the coronavirus quarantines and lockdowns, most of us are working from home. This transition to a virtual world has blurred the lines between professional and personal life … in more ways than one.

We’ve all heard some of the scarier versions of Big Brother. Companies installing technology in their employees’ chairs, that tracks how long they spend at their desks each day. Required employee tracking bracelets, which record how many minutes you spend on your lunch break.

Though the pandemic has isolated us in so many ways, that doesn’t mean we’re entirely alone. In fact, some of us are being watched like never before.

In this episode of the TechTank podcast, Darrell West invites attorney John Ella to discuss how companies surveil employees and what workers can do to protect themselves.

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