Note: I wrote this column last week before the Facebook personal information breach to Cambridge Analytica story broke. Take heed of my last paragraph.
Q: I saw this incredible headline: “More companies are using microchip technology to monitor employees, sparking privacy concerns”. I had to double-check and make sure it wasn’t a joke or parody. Are there any protections against employers monitoring beyond the work place?
A: Yes, the headline is true. But somewhat misleading. Last year a Wisconsin based tech firm began implanting employees -who had willingly volunteered- with microchips containing radio frequency (RFID) technology.
The chips –which are the size of a grain of rice- don’t have a GPS, so there’s no need to worry about monitoring beyond the workplace. The chips are being presented as a “perk”, a convenience to open doors, purchase food, or logon to your PC with the wave of your hand, instead of a that pesky employee badge and cumbersome credit card.
For the actual implanting, the company brings in a technician (usually a tattoo/piercing tech), who inserts the chip between your thumb and index.
But currently, I’m not worried about microchipping. In its present offering, it is voluntary, it is only radio frequency, and it works only in a specific location. Employees can say, “Thanks but no thanks”. That’s what I’d do.
What WOULD be worrisome to me is if it ever becomes “a condition of employment”. In which case you are not forced to be microchipped, but if you want that good job at the big company you’ll have to consent. I would also worry if the technology ever becomes pervasive and chips can be “seen” by readers everywhere outside the workplace. But we’re not there yet.
What I think it’s much bigger privacy concern, and one that most people either ignore or don’t appreciate, is the amount of info your company-issued cell phone can give your employer. The GPS knows where you are, how long you spend at a restaurant, what time you arrive at work, at a client’s or a job site. And if you use it as your personal phone, it will know where you are after hours, during the weekend and at what time and for how long. That’s creepy.
Of course people already freely give away their information to the world through Facebook, and to Amazon through Alexa, and to Google through using “the internet of things”.
There’s no escaping it. We are not quite at “Soylent green is people” territory. But I for one can more easily see how we can be lulled to giving up more and more private info, willingly, all in the name of convenience.
©Copyright Eva Del Rio
Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com
