In a German company with a works council, new software that can record how employees work cannot simply be switched on. The works council has a right of co-determination over technical systems that are able to monitor employees’ conduct or performance. The courts look at what the technology can do, not at what the employer intends. In 2016, the Federal Labor Court ruled that a blood donation service with about 1,300 employees needed its works council’s agreement for how it set up the comment function on its Facebook page, because visitors could post comments there about identifiable staff. In 2022, the same court treated the introduction of Microsoft 365 as subject to this right. Because the software needs one rule for the whole company, it ruled that the company-wide works council is responsible. Without an agreement, a conciliation board decides.