  As independently-contracted employees, gig workers disproportionately suffer
the consequences of workplace surveillance, which include increased pressures
to work, breaches of privacy, and decreased digital autonomy. Despite the
negative impacts of workplace surveillance, gig workers lack the tools,
strategies, and workplace social support to protect themselves against these
harms. Meanwhile, some critical theorists have proposed sousveillance as a
potential means of countering such abuses of power, whereby those under
surveillance monitor those in positions of authority (e.g., gig workers collect
data about requesters/platforms). To understand the benefits of sousveillance
systems in the gig economy, we conducted semi-structured interviews and led
co-design activities with gig workers. We use "care ethics" as a guiding
concept to understand our interview and co-design data, while also focusing on
empathic sousveillance technology design recommendations. Through our study, we
identify gig workers' attitudes towards and past experiences with
sousveillance. We also uncover the type of sousveillance technologies imagined
by workers, provide design recommendations, and finish by discussing how to
create empowering, empathic spaces on gig platforms.
