twitter thread: I had to get a background check for my job... by @bruise_almighty on Fama, JAN 27, 2020
blog post: Office 365 spies on employees for bosses by Cory Doctorow, NOV 25, 2020
Most people have resigned to the fact that they have no privacy and figure it's ok because either they have nothing to hide or it's just used for ads. However, these links reframe that premise. Surveillance is not about finding objective problems, it's about power and access. Bad behavior is subjective based on the watcher and their goals. In these scenarios, surveillance is packaged to "help" companies manage workers and potentially make hiring, firing, and promotion decisions. Long used against precarious workers and communities, surveillance is being used to streamline decisions of greater and greater consequence giving more and more people less control and recourse in their lives.