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Remote Apple Call Center Workers Complain About Plans for AI Video and Audio Monitoring
Apple (News - Alert) call center workers have complained that the company plans to install cameras and other technology to monitor them when working from home. Reports from a variety of sources reveal the company has issued new contracts allowing it to monitor employees using AI-powered cameras, voice analytics and storage of data about workers' family members.
Employees of call center company Teleperformance (News - Alert) in Colombia, one of the main call center companies used by Apple, reported on the new system. The contracts reportedly ask workers to consent to video cameras being installed in their homes or on computers. The cameras are meant to be angled toward the workspace, so workers may be recorded and monitored in real time.
The contracts also have a provision for workers to consent to the use of AI video analysis tools that are capable of identifying "restricted" objects within the workspace, including cell phones.
"The contract allows constant monitoring of what we are doing, but also our family," a Bogota-based worker told NBC News. "I think it's really bad. We don't work in an office. I work in my bedroom. I don't want to have a camera in my bedroom."
The contracts also reportedly ask workers to share data and images relating to any children in the household under the age of 18 who may be picked up by the video and audio monitoring tools. They also have provisions for giving biometric data like fingerprints and taking polygraph tests.
Teleperformance workers have allegedly been told they will be moved off the Apple account if they refuse to sign the new contract. The call center company's software already reportedly scans for video breaches of work rules and sends information to managers. Workers are flagged as idle if they fail to use their mouse and keyboard for a certain amount of time, and must also enter a "break mode" in the software to leave their desks.
Albanian employees of Teleperformance, many of whom work on Apple's UK account, have complained to the Albanian Data Protection Commissioner about similar proposals to introduce video monitoring in their homes. The country has barred the call center company from using cameras to monitor staff working from home as a result.
Apple "prohibits the use of video or photographic monitoring by our suppliers and have confirmed Teleperformance does not use video monitoring for any of their teams working with Apple," said Nick Leahy, a spokesperson for Apple. The company also said it had audited Teleperformance in Colombia this year and did not find any "core violations of our strict standards. We investigate all claims and will continue to ensure everyone across our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect."
Edited by Luke Bellos