Can your boss spy on you at work? Right to privacy in the digital workplace.

Kilian Vieth, Joanna Bronowicka If you work in Europe, your privacy
at the workplace might depend on the upcoming ruling of the the
European Court of Human Rights in the Barbulescu case. Barnulescu
was a Romanian engineer fired in 2007 for chatting online with his
fiancée at work. Due to be issued this year, the ruling will define
the meaning of privacy at work for employees in the 47 countries
that have ratified the European Convention of Human Rights. In the
decade since Barbulescu was fired, the pace of technological change
has accelerated. Today, the technologies used to supervise
employees at work include not only software for monitoring
computers, phones and emails of the employees but also cameras,
microphones, biometric devices, and GPS receivers. As the
digitisation of work advances, the social and legal norms about
privacy and surveillance at workplace are still in flux. And the
national, European and international laws are slow to adapt to
these technological changes. As the challenges of workplace
surveillance become more apparent, it is clear that the patchwork
legislation does not adequately meet the needs of European workers
who do not want to completely forgo their privacy at work. The
current legal and political framework favors corporate interests,
undermines the right to privacy, and perpetuates gender inequality
and other forms of discrimination. We need to explore the impact of
technology on power relations at work to ensure that workers'
rights are adequately protected in the digital age.