Issued on: Modified:
Washington (AFP)
People who return to work after the long pandemic will find a variety of devices with technology to improve safety in the workplace, but which can pose risks to long-term personal and medical privacy.
Temperature checks, distance monitors, digital “passports”, wellness surveys and robotic cleaning and disinfection systems are being deployed in many workplaces that are looking to reopen.
Technology giants and startups are offering solutions that include computer vision detection of vital signs for wearables, which can offer early indications of the start of Covid-19 and applications that monitor health metrics.
Salesforce and IBM have partnered on a “digital health pass” to allow people to share their vaccinations and health status on their smartphones.
Clear, a technology startup known for airport screening, has created its own health pass, which is being used by organizations like the National Hockey League and MGM Resorts.
Fitbit, a maker of wearable technology recently acquired by Google, has its own “Ready for Work” program, which includes daily check-ins using data from your devices.
Fitbit is equipping nearly 1,000 NASA employees with wearables as part of a pilot program that requires a daily login using various health metrics that will be tracked by the space agency.
Microsoft and insurance giant United HealthCare have deployed a ProtectWell application that includes a daily symptom tracker, and Amazon has deployed a “distance assistant” in its warehouses to help employees maintain safe distances.
And a large coalition of technology companies and healthcare organizations is working on a digital vaccination certificate, which can be used on smartphones to show evidence of vaccination for Covid-19.
– ‘Blurs the lines’ –
With these systems, employees can face screening when entering a building’s lobby and monitoring elevators, corridors and throughout the workplace.
Monitoring “blurs the line between people’s workplace and personal life,” said Darrell West, vice president of the Brookings Institution at the think tank’s Center for Technological Innovation.
“It erodes long-standing medical privacy protections for many different workers.”
A report last year by consumer activist group Public Citizen identified at least 50 applications and technologies released during the pandemic “marketed as workplace surveillance tools to combat Covid-19”.
The report says that some systems even identify people who may not spend enough time in front of a sink to notice inadequate hand washing.
“The invasion of privacy that workers face is alarming, especially considering that the effectiveness of these technologies in mitigating the spread of Covid-19 has not yet been established,” said the report.
The group stated that there must be clear rules on data collection and storage, with better disclosure to employees.
– A delicate balance –
Employers face a delicate balance when trying to ensure safety in the workplace without interfering with privacy, said Forrest Briscoe, professor of management and organization at Penn State University.
Briscoe said there are legitimate and precedent reasons for requiring proof of vaccination. But this sometimes conflicts with medical privacy regulations that limit a company’s access to employee health data.
“You don’t want the employer to access this information to make work-related decisions,” said Briscoe.
Biscoe said that many employers rely on third-party technology providers to handle monitoring, but that also has its risks.
“Using third-party vendors will keep the data separate,” he said.
“But for some companies, their business model involves collecting data and using it for monetary purposes and that poses a risk to privacy.”
The global health crisis has inspired startups around the world to look for innovative ways to limit the transmission of the virus, with some of these products displayed at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show.
FaceHeart, based in Taiwan, demonstrated software that can be installed on cameras for non-contact measurement of vital signs to detect shortness of breath, high fever, dehydration, high heart rate and other symptoms that are early indicators of Covid-19.
Drone maker Draganfly introduced camera technology that can be used to provide alerts about social detachment and also to detect changes in people’s vital signs, which can be early indicators of Covid-19 infection.
A programmable robot from Misty Robotics, also shown at CES, can be adapted as a health check monitor and can also be designed to disinfect frequently used surfaces, such as door handles, according to the company.
But there are risks in relying too much on technologies that may not be proven or inaccurate, such as trying to detect fevers with thermal cameras among people on the move, said Jay Stanley, privacy researcher and analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Employers have a legitimate interest in protecting workplaces and keeping employees healthy in the context of the pandemic,” said Stanley.
“But I would be concerned if employers used the pandemic to collect and store information in a systematic way beyond what is necessary to protect health.”
© 2021 AFP