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from the keeping-too-close-an-eye-on-things dept.
H&M fined more than $40 million for spying on employees:
A German privacy watchdog said Thursday that it is fining clothing retailer H&M 35.3 million euros ($41 million) after the company was found to have spied on some of its employees in Germany.
Hamburg's data protection commissioner said in a statement that the Swedish company collected private information about employees at a customer service center in Nuremberg, "ranging from rather harmless details to family issues and religious beliefs."
The information was recorded on a network drive accessible to up to 50 managers and "used, among other things, to obtain a detailed profile of employees for measures and decisions regarding their employment."
[...] H&M said in a statement that the practices in Nuremberg didn't correspond to company guidelines but that it nevertheless took full responsibility and had apologized unreservedly to the employees. The company said it would examine the fine issued.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday October 03 2020, @02:34PM (7 children)
So what is the company guideline? Don't get caught?
That said I doubt they are very unique in this matter. I would just assume the company/organization one works for it spying on you these days, how you use the computer, for what, content all your emails, where your phone is and all calls/messages/locations you have ever been at with it in your pocket.
One do wonder what they would want to know about "family issues" and "religious beliefs" for? So they can schedule your holidays better? Doesn't seem to be anything important that they need to know about or at least not keep around in a database.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 03 2020, @05:08PM
I know that my company keeps an eye on employee's social media stuff. I'm on record with HR for telling them that employee's posts are none of their business. Nothing that an employee does on his own time is company business.
Another face of that coin is - employees shouldn't expect anything from the company when they engage in community activities. That goes for those stupid company dinners for employees who are veterans on Veteran's Day. It applies to volunteers who work with soup kitchens or scouting or political campaigns, etc. Employer wants those opportunities for photo ops and PR, I always hate that stuff, and avoid them like the plague. Some of my coworkers eat that crap up, love the cameras, and post to social media every time it happens.
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2020, @05:21PM (2 children)
> I would just assume the company/organization one works for it spying on you these days, how you use the computer, for what, content all your emails...
True in the US where non-rich people have zero influence in governance, and laws are extremely anti-worker. But, as evidenced by this story, Europe is doing quite a bit better on the worker rights / worker privacy front.
You should not have to give up your privacy or be subjected to authoritarian rule just to earn a paycheck. It is crazy that as a society, we seem to accept the vast majority of businesses being organized on authoritarian structures. And, that most employers currently consider the employee to have zero rights to privacy while at work. Hopefully soon, we will look back on this time as we currently do the era of child labor in dangerous factories working 16 hour days-- as barbarian.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1164 [gutenberg.org] [The Iron Heel, Jack London; a short story about a future utopia where the rich parasite employer class does not control all aspects of the worker's existence]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2020, @05:33PM
s/barbarian/barbaric - lack of sleep. It was hotter than hell and the air thick with smoke all night (Cali).
(Score: 2) by weilawei on Saturday October 03 2020, @09:35PM
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Spamalope on Saturday October 03 2020, @06:07PM
To make sure anyone promoted has the 'right' political views?
To make sure nobody with medical issues is promoted?
To enforce glass ceiling rules based on family social status?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2020, @06:08PM
They weren't getting enough teleworking webcam porn. Not enough of the employees had underage daugters that happened to change clothes in front of the company laptop.
Big Brother is Wanking to You.
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Sunday October 04 2020, @07:05PM
Here's what I would want to know, as an employer. And yes, this is against the law, but ethically it should not be.
If someone is religious, I don't want them in charge of any decision making, and would not promote them to a position of power. They literally believe in insane shit, and hence are not mentally stable, and lack critical thinking.
If a woman recently got married, I'm not going to promote her to any role where she'll be in charge of anything important. She's going to have a kid soon, be absent from the office for a while and I'll still have to pay her, for not working. After she comes back to work after a vacation on my dime, she's not going to be a focused on her work as someone without kids.
Yes, this type of thinking for a company is against the law, and they rightfully got fined. You're free to make those types of decisions in your personal life, but when you start a company - with all the benefits that come with that, you have to follow a set of rules, which H&M broke. That's a different issue. But as far as why would this information be useful to a company - you gotta be pretty dense if you think they're not very, very useful.
(Score: 3, Informative) by inertnet on Saturday October 03 2020, @10:10PM (1 child)
This week was in the news that H & M is closing 250 (5% of total) stores worldwide.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by weilawei on Saturday October 03 2020, @10:26PM
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