Big Tech Wants Your Work Data Too

If you think Big Tech companies like Google and Meta are only tracking and collecting your data through social media and online ads, think again. A new study claims that data collected by workplace monitoring apps may not just stay with employers. According to researchers, some of it was also shared with companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Google.As first spotted by The Verge, a report published by researchers from Columbia Law School and Northeastern University found that several workplace monitoring apps, often called 'bossware,; were sharing worker data with third parties linked to major tech and advertising companies.The study, led by Stephanie T. Nguyen, Levi Kaplan, David Choffnes, Alan Mislove, Seth Frotman, and Erie Meyer, examined nine

widely used workplace monitoring platforms including Hubstaff, Time Doctor, Monitask, Desklog, Deputy, Buddy Punch, and VeriClock. They created both employee and manager accounts on these platforms and tracked how data moved while the apps were being used. According to the report, all nine platforms shared identifying worker information such as names, email addresses and company names with outside third parties during testing sessions.Big Tech Is Betting Billions On AI And Your Future

As per the researchers, companies connected to this data-sharing ecosystem included Facebook, Google, Microsoft, HubSpot, Segment, ZoomInfo, and other analytics or advertising firms. They also found that all nine workplace monitoring apps shared details related to workers’ online activities. This included IP addresses, device information, browsing activity, and unique identifiers being sent to 145 third-party domains. The study further claims that some apps were capable of continuously tracking workers’ locations, even while running in the background. Three of the nine apps tested reportedly requested constant location access and motion sensor permissions such as accelerometer or gyroscope data.Big Tech May Be Using Indian Factory Workers To Train AI

According to the researchers, workplaces are slowly becoming part of the larger surveillance economy that has long powered targeted advertising on the internet."This emerging reality raises urgent questions about how workplace data is collected, shared, and repurposed. As this surveillance infrastructure expands, it transforms tracking from a background feature of the web into a structural condition of participation in society. What is at stake is the ability of people - both as consumers and workers – to participate in digital and economic life without being subjected to constant surveillance," the researchers said.