PricewaterhouseCoopers is providing the banking industry with a surveillance software that helps them supervise their staff at home. The technology is reaching very far – too far even in the eyes of employers.

The face-recognition software provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that banks and asset managers use for the supervision of their staff in the home officer registered even their toilet breaks .

The intrusion into the privacy of staff has become a topic of heated discussion in London, where the main clients of the PwC-product are based. The company has more such products in the pipeline, but banks have now told the company to ditch the far-going tools, according to U.K. newswire «Financial News» (behind paywall).

Violation of Privacy Rights

The new noise-tracking device presented by PwC would have enabled the compliance staff of trading houses to detect unusual activities in the homes of employees. A partner at PwC told «Financial News» that bank managers had rejected such a tool after being presented with a prototype, because of a concern about a potential violation of people’s privacy rights.

Banks, including the major Swiss firms, have invested in control mechanisms and surveillance of trading floors after a series of manipulation scandals had rocked the industry and led to huge fines for the companies concerned.