[orra]

That's different tho.

Firms that hire contractors can legitimately require the use of their own equipment, to an extent, on security grounds.

However, a hiring firm installing software on equipment they don't even own? That's an entirely new level of control.

Remember that contractors are free agents compared to employees. The immorality of this spying aside, contractors shouldn't cede this control unless they want to be treated as employees. They might gain paid holidays and better work security by doing so, but permanent employees are underpaid.