Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has denied reports that it is using software to track individual employee activity on company-issued laptops.
1. What sparked the controversy?
A report claimed TCS had deployed a Digital User Experience Monitoring tool that could provide visibility into applications used and time spent on them, raising privacy concerns.
2. What does TCS say?
TCS called the reports “baseless and inaccurate” and said it does not track individual employee activity. According to the company, its tools are used to monitor macro-level network performance, security, availability and user experience.
3. Why are such tools used?
Digital monitoring systems can help companies identify technical issues, improve device performance, detect unusual network behaviour and strengthen cybersecurity.
4. Is employee monitoring common?
Workplace monitoring has become a wider technology-industry issue, with companies in different countries facing questions about employee privacy and data collection.
5. What remains unclear?
The key question is the exact technical capability of the tools. While the report described application-level visibility, TCS maintains that it does not track individual employee activity.