Dutch Court Says Demanding Employees Turn on Their Webcams is Illegal

The Dutch court has ruled that “instructions to keep the webcam turned on is in conflict with the respect for the privacy of the workers.”

In its verdict, the court also suggested that demanding webcam surveillance is a human rights violation.

Tracking via camera for 8 hours per day is disproportionate and not permitted in the Netherlands. Video surveillance of an employee in the workplace, be it covert or not, must be considered as a considerable intrusion into the employee’s private life (…), and hence [the court] considers that it constitutes an interference within the meaning of Article 8 [Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms],

runs the verdict.

The ruling was made after a Dutch telemarketer filed a claim against Florida-based Chetu. The employee opposed being monitored “for 9 hours per day,” with a program that included screen-sharing and streaming his webcam. When he refused, he was fired for what the company stated was “refusal to work” and “insubordination.”