TCS accused of employee monitoring:Company says- Only tracking system performance; Meta was also embroiled in keystroke recording

The country’s largest IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has come under controversy regarding employee monitoring. According to reports, the company is using monitoring tools on its employees’ laptops and workstations. However, TCS says that the purpose of these tools is not to track any employee’s personal activities, but to improve the overall performance of the entire network and system security. What do these network monitoring tools do? Companies use network monitoring tools to secure their digital infrastructure and improve its performance. The main function of these systems is to identify any abnormal behavior in the network, resolve technical issues, improve device performance, and protect corporate data from cyber threats. From a business and security perspective, the use of such tools by companies is considered a normal process. Main Reason for Controversy: Tracking of Personal Activity Meta Has Also Faced Criticism Over Employee Monitoring The issue of workplace monitoring, or employee surveillance at work, is not limited to TCS alone. Such cases have emerged before in the global tech industry. Tech giant Meta also faced criticism during one of its AI-related projects. Meta had introduced a system that could collect data on employees’ keystrokes and mouse activity. Later, due to heavy opposition, Meta had to provide employees with the option to stop data collection and request exemption. Legal Regulations and Future Situation This issue of employee monitoring has also come under legal scrutiny in different countries. The rules and strict laws regarding employee monitoring vary considerably across different jurisdictions and countries. Currently, the biggest issue in this entire matter remains what information TCS’s tools can technically access and how that data is actually being used in reality. What is the difference between Macro-level and Employee-level Monitoring?