Articles Press release

Pirate MEPs call for protection of mental health in digital space

Strasbourg, 06/07/2022 – Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the protection of mental health in the digital workspace. Pirate Party MEPs appreciate the text, which calls for a stronger regulation of Artificial Intelligence tools for remote real-time employee monitoring of progress and performance and time-tracking. Further, the resolution urges Member States and EU institutions to tackle significant health risks stemming from over-connection, a blurring of the lines between work and private life, and higher work intensity or “technostress”.

Marcel Kolaja, Member and Quaestor of the European Parliament, comments:

“Parliament clearly states that using artificial intelligence in the workplace must be fair and transparent. And I fully support that. I also welcome that the use of artificial intelligence needs to be approved through dialogue between employee and workers representatives. Every citizen has a right to know who is snooping on him and why. Such rules are also fundamental for avoiding discriminatory treatment in recruitment process and other areas due to biased algorithms. There have already been examples of CV screening processes in which the AI system preferred men over women who applied for managerial positions. And those are the situations we strictly need to avoid.”

Mikuláš Peksa MEP, Chairperson of the European Pirate Party, comments:

„AI is obviously a problem for the mental health of employees, their safety and their right to privacy and dignity. That is why we have advocated in the European Parliament that there must be European rules on artificial intelligence in the workplace. We will ensure that workers’ rights and quality of life are adequately protected. Protection from discrimination, emphasis on privacy and human dignity are fundamental.

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