Which data processing systems are used in companies today? What functions does the software available on the market offer? How do these technologies affect workers? To what extent do they change or strengthen the power imbalance between the company and employees? And where is the journey going?

Due to the rapid development of information and communication technologies, the collection of data about employees is becoming more and more part of everyday business life. Comprehensive digital logging of work activities quickly becomes permanent monitoring and control that deeply encroaches on the rights and freedoms of those affected. The opportunities and risks are unevenly distributed. While operational processes are being optimized, employees come under pressure – and under general suspicion. Companies use permanent data acquisition not only to sanction misconduct and to evaluate performance, but increasingly as a basis for partially or fully automated decisions that have a direct impact on the everyday work of employees. The systems used are often complex and non-transparent, the pace of development is high. Ten years ago, for example, it was difficult to predict how much the smartphone would change our everyday lives – including in the world of work.

The present study gives an overview on 150 pages of digital monitoring and control in the workplace and of the processing of personal data about employees in the company. It documents, systematizes and maps relevant technologies, systems and current developments with regard to their effects on employees – across industries and areas of activity, using many case studies and in a form that has so far been missing in the German-speaking area. The study is based on several years of work on the subject and is one of the results of the “Transparent Workforce” project, which was carried out by Cracked Labs in cooperation with the two Austrian unions GPA and PRO-GE and supported by the Work 4.0 digitization fund of the Vienna Chamber of Labor.

At the center of the investigation

The question was: What functions and technical possibilities does software offer that companies can use today, and how is data about employees processed? In some case studies, a deployment in Austria and Germany is legally difficult to imagine. But common systems such as Microsoft 365 or SAP also process data excessively today. Assessments of the data protection and labor law admissibility of the documented examples are largely excluded and could be the subject of a follow-up study. In addition to nine case studies on systems available on the market and two case studies on data practices at Amazon and Zalando, a map was developed that gives a systematic overview of operational data practices and systems. As part of the project, Hans Christian Voigt carried out a smaller study based on interviews with works council members. The result are five case studies on the specific use of data processing systems in Austrian companies.

The full version of the study is available as a PDF download ; a summary can be found below.

For more information see https://crackedlabs.org/daten-arbeitsplatz

Cracked Labs is a small, independent research institute and creative laboratory based in Vienna that deals with the interactions between information technology and society. The non-profit association was founded in 2012 as part of the development of the online game “Data Dealer” and in recent years has developed into a global competence center in areas such as surveillance, data protection, tracking, algorithms, platforms and the economy of personal data.

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Oppo has outlined its intention to venture into 6G, as part of the Chinese multinational telco’s future plans to create next-generation communications offerings.

The phone maker’s research arm, the Oppo Research Institute in Shenzhen, has released its first 6G white paper: “6G AI-Cube Intelligent Networking”, to provide the telecommunications industry with insight into how artificial intelligence (AI) can empower 6G network architecture.

The white paper also proposes a more detailed vision for the design of next-generation communication networks, with Oppo saying it believes 6G will reshape the way people interact with AI like never before, by allowing AI to become a public-serving technology that can be used by everyone.

The Chinese phone manufacturer, which launched in SA in 2020, previously told ITWeb it has ambitious plans for massive growth in the next five years locally, by introducing high-quality, affordable devices.

As a key contributor to the popularisation of 5G, Oppo is working with various partners to promote the large-scale commercialisation of 5G.

The telco says it believes that smart devices, when empowered by 6G, will become important participants of AI, enabling the downloading and deploying of AI algorithms at different application levels, to create new immersive experiences for users, while also constantly collecting data to feed more advanced AI models.

Read more at https://www.itweb.co.za/content/Olx4zMknAA1756km/zlP3gQ2qGRMnRD1W

The 5G connectivity is currently the hype train all companies are riding, but some are already looking farther into the future. We received a 6G white paper by Oppo in which the company reveals how it visions the next-gen connectivity will affect our daily lives.

According to the paper, the company thinks 6G network architecture will “reshape the way people interact with AI” and will “become a truly public-serving technology that can be used by everyone”.

Read more at:

https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_plans_for_6g_connectivity_include_revolutionized_use_of_ai_by_2035-news-50019.php

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The first episode premieres Monday, May 17, 2021.

https://datasociety.simplecast.com/episodes/becoming-data-trailer

In the podcast series, Natalie Kerby of Data & Society asks her guests: How long has human life been quantified as data, and in what contexts? What are some major implications of humanity being measured as data? How are people pushing back against the datafication of human life, work, health, and citizenship?

She speaks with academics, artists, activists, and journalists to explore these questions and more.

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Tuesday (4 August) at 1pm

Register at the link below:

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/80/wyg05h7g

The post Vumacam webinar- Tuesday (4 August) at 1pm appeared first on EMFSA.

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EELV calls for a “moratorium on 5G” which will generate “a big inflation in electricity consumption” and allow “the collection of personal data”, according to François Thiollet, member of the party’s executive board.

“5G will accelerate the capacity to disseminate information but its energy footprint is a major problem,” Mr. Thiollet, delegate for the Europe Green Ecology project, told AFP on Friday.

In a motion adopted almost unanimously by the hundred federal councilors of the party last weekend, EELV warns that “5G will be the occasion of a big inflation of the electricity consumption and the collection of the personal data of the users , via the many connected gadgets that will be offered for purchase “.

 “Once 5G is deployed in France, it is not less than 2% increase in electricity consumption at the national level that is mentioned”.

“At a time of ecological and social emergency, promoting a technology which increases energy consumption and depletes resources a little more, it warrants at least taking the time for democratic debate and therefore for clear, complete information and unbiased, ” add the Greens.

They are therefore asking for “a moratorium on the deployment of 5G while awaiting the final conclusions” of the experts (ANSES, ADEME) and, during the moratorium, “total transparency on projects to install mobile telephony antennas”.

At the end of the moratorium, they want “the guarantee of political sovereignty and technological independence, national and European, against transnational companies currently leaders in the 5G market”. 

Another request: the creation of “white zones”, without waves emitted by any device whatsoever “.

Delphine Batho, EDS deputy (Ecology, Democracy, Solidarity), also called for a moratorium on 5G on July 7, questioning the usefulness and environmental impact of this technology.

According to Orange CEO Stéphane Richard, 5G is “much better in terms of energy performance” than 4G.

To read the full article please see https://www.france24.com/fr/20200717-eelv-demande-un-moratoire-sur-la-5g?fbclid=IwAR25uPPZBkmDVhgPYUEf_7Qn3AavoH6-PLI2zAdxOK4-E6agn_Q-Q1J-HYw

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Thursday 16 July 2020 | 16:25 CET | News

The European Commission announced the launch of a competition investigation into the connected devices market. The open-ended inquiry focuses on wearables and smart home devices that can be connected with digital voice assistants or mobile phone apps. 

Competition Commissioner Magrethe Vestager said she was concerned about the large amounts of personal data collected through such services and wanted to make sure market players are not using the data to distort competition or exclude competitors. The investigation should help the Commission understand better how to apply competition law in the growing sector, she said. 

Read more at: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/eu-starts-competition-inquiry-in-consumer-iot-market–1346840?utm_source=headlines_-_english&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=17-07-2020&utm_content=textlink

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• May 26, 2020, 4:43 a.m. ET

China’s Virus Apps May Outlast the Outbreak, Stirring Privacy Fears

With the disease there mostly under control, officials are looking for new uses for the government software that’s now on many phones.

At the height of China’s coronavirus outbreak, officials made quick use of the fancy tracking devices in everybody’s pockets — their smartphones — to identify and isolate people who might be spreading the illness.

Months later, China’s official statistics suggest that the worst of the epidemic has passed there, but the government’s monitoring apps are hardly fading into obsolescence. Instead, they are tiptoeing toward becoming a permanent fixture of everyday life, one with potential to be used in troubling and invasive ways.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/technology/china-coronavirus-surveillance.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

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