Pictures widely circulated online shows a digital timer placed above a toilet cubicle in the building of Kuaishou, a Beijing-based firm known for its popular video-sharing mobile app with 200 million active users.
Kuaishou claimed that the monitoring devices were implemented as part of its plan to build new restroom facilities.
The pictures quickly became a trending topic on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo and drew thousands of comments from angered netizens who slammed the tech firm's approach.
One commenter wrote: 'Now people don't even have the freedom to take a s***?'
Another one said: 'This is outrageous. They want you to do your work quickly and also take a dump quickly!'
In response to the public's criticism, the Chinese company explained that the timers were installed to solve the site's problem of 'toilet shortage'.
'The fact is that there are currently a limited number of toilets on the site, and there is a serious problem of employees queuing to go to the toilet,' Kuaishou said.
'But because of the building's construction layout, it is extremely difficult to build new toilet cubicles within the building,' it read.
By installing the monitoring devices, the firm claimed it could determine how many portable toilets it needed to accommodate its staff's needs.
It remains remains unclear if the timers had been removed following the controversy.
0 Comments