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Djokovic Still ‘Not Planning to Get Vaccinated,’ Set to Skip U.S. Open + More
Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic, Still ‘Not Planning to Get Vaccinated,’ Set to Skip U.S. Open
Just hours after winning his fourth straight title at Wimbledon with a four-set victory over Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic confirmed he has no plans to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and will not be playing the U.S. Open unless the restrictions to enter the country are eased or he is given a medical exemption.
“I’m not vaccinated and I’m not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption,” Djokovic said Sunday. “I don’t know. I don’t think exemption is realistically possible. If that is a possibility, I don’t know what exemption would be about.”
Having won all three of the first majors in 2021, Djokovic’s bid for the elusive Calendar Grand Slam was spoiled by Daniil Medvedev in last year’s U.S. Open final. He was then unable to play at the Australian Open to begin this year after being deported from the country.
Elon Musk Walks Away From $44 Billion Twitter Deal; Twitter to Sue
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has filed to exit a multibillion-dollar deal with Twitter over concerns about its spam bots, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing shows.
Musk’s lawyers argued that, despite multiple requests from the tech billionaire, Twitter failed to provide information on the pervasiveness of the social media platform’s bot accounts that is “fundamental to Twitter’s business and financial performance” and is “necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.”
Musk’s July 8 announcement ended a tumultuous couple of months in which his $44 billion deal with Twitter hit snags over concerns of fake accounts on the platform.
China to Place Electronic Tags on COVID Patients to Stop Them Leaving Home
From July 17, Hong Kong will require all COVID-19 patients under home quarantine to wear an electronic bracelet to stop them from leaving their homes, the city’s new health minister Lo Chung-Mau announced Monday.
Lo, approved by Beijing last month as part of new Chief Executive John Lee’s Cabinet, also said Monday that the Hong Kong government “recommends” rolling out in part the health code adopted in mainland China, that prevents COVID patients from visiting public venues, and requires mandatory quarantine for overseas visitors, AFP reported.
The measure will turn the QR codes of COVID-positive patients red on their LeaveHomeSafe app, and travelers will have yellow QR codes, Lo said, noting that it would make it easier to identify those who are infected and those who have come from overseas.
Hong Kong’s government used electronic wristbands earlier this year to monitor COVID patients undergoing home isolation, as part of measures that were implemented to battle rising infections amid a fifth wave.
New COVID Strain Could Push Cities Back to Mask Mandates
Cities across the United States might be urged to bring back mask mandates as the new Omicron subvariants continue to spread.
Concerns around another surge in COVID cases prompted some cities to discuss reintroducing indoor mask mandates as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its risk category for some counties.
An indoor mask mandate might be reinstated in Los Angeles County as soon as late July if a high COVID risk is reached and remains there for two consecutive weeks, The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
Could TikTok Charge Users to View Your Videos? The Law Says Yes
“At LinkedIn, we’re committed to respecting what’s yours,” says the narrator of a video titled “Who owns your content? You do.” They continue: “So we’ll always ask your permission before using your content in the ads, publications or websites of other companies.”
This should go without saying. Our content should not be used in third-party ads without our knowledge or consent. Social media sites should not use content we post for business reasons we didn’t intend.
Yet from a legal perspective, social media sites do have broad rights to use any information you provide. “You own your Content,” promises the Twitter Terms of Service, followed by a long paragraph granting Twitter the rights to use, adapt, share and distribute your content worldwide.
TikTok, likewise, claims “an unconditional irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable, perpetual worldwide license” to your content. Instagram claims not only a broad license to your content, but also permission to show your username, photo, likes, and relationships in connection with third-party ads.
Exclusive: Myanmar’s Junta Rolls out Chinese Camera Surveillance Systems in More Cities
Myanmar’s junta government is installing Chinese-built cameras with facial recognition capabilities in more cities across the country, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Since the February 2021 coup, local authorities have started new camera surveillance projects for at least five cities including Mawlamyine — the country’s fourth-largest city, according to information from the three people who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals by the junta.
The junta is planning camera surveillance systems for cities in each of Myanmar’s seven states and seven regions, said one of the sources who was briefed on the junta’s plans on two occasions by different people.
8 Richest Tech Leaders Lost More Than $250 Billion in 2022: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos Take a Hit
It’s no secret tech leaders wield a large influence when ranking the world’s richest people.
Eight of the top 20 billionaires in the world earned their wealth through the tech sector, according to Bloomberg’s billionaires index. Of those tech billionaires, seven are among the top 10 richest overall.
According to Bloomberg, the combined net worth of the eight tech billionaires in the top 20 plunged by $256 billion, roughly equal to the gross domestic product of New Zealand, based on World Bank data.
Here’s a breakdown of the tech leaders on Bloomberg’s list as of Friday.
U.S. Defense Firm Ends Talks to Buy NSO Group’s Surveillance Technology
The American defense contractor L3 Harris has abandoned talks to acquire NSO Group’s surveillance technology after the White House said any potential deal raised “serious counterintelligence and security concerns for the U.S. government.”
The White House opposition, which was first reported by the Guardian and its media partners last month, was seen as an insurmountable obstacle to any transaction, according to a person familiar with the talks who said the potential acquisition was now “certainly” off the table.
The news, which is being reported by the Guardian, Washington Post and Haaretz, follows a tumultuous period for the Israeli surveillance company, which was placed on a U.S. blacklist by president Joe Biden’s administration last November after the commerce department’s bureau of industry and security determined that the firm had acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the U.S.”
Researchers in China Claim They Have Developed ‘Mind-Reading’ Artificial Intelligence That Can Measure Loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, Reports Say
Researchers at China’s Comprehensive National Science Center in Hefei claimed to have developed “mind-reading” artificial intelligence capable of measuring citizens’ loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), The Sunday Times U.K. first reported.
In a now-deleted video and article, the institute said the software could measure party members’ reactions to “thought and political education” by analyzing facial expressions and brain waves, according to The Times.
The results can then be used to “further solidify their confidence and determination to be grateful to the party, listen to the party and follow the party,” the researchers said, per the report. The post was taken down following a public outcry from Chinese citizens, according to a VOA article published Saturday.
Late last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce sanctioned several Chinese institutes for helping develop biotechnology including “purported brain-control weaponry,” as Insider previously reported.
Scientists Are Combining AI and Brainwaves to Create Ghost Imaging
The future is here, and it is every bit as cool and creepy as you might have hoped.
X-ray vision has always been pretty far down on my list of superpowers I’d like to possess, far behind time travel and reading minds. But x-ray vision might be closer to reality than the other options, and I’ll take what I can get. Researchers at the University of Glasgow are working to combine artificial intelligence and human brainwaves to identify objects around the corner — objects that humans can’t normally see because it’s around a corner. It’s called a “ghost imaging” system and will be presented at the Optica Imaging and Applied Optics Congress this month.
“We believe that this work provides ideas that one day might be used to bring together human and artificial intelligence,” Daniele Faccio, a professor of quantum technologies at the school of physics and astronomy at the University of Glasgow told Optica. “
The research is part of non-line-of-sight imaging, according to New Atlas, which is a branch of technology that allows people to see objects that are covered up. Sometimes it requires a laser light being beamed onto a surface, which sounds a lot like a power Superman might have.
TikTok ‘Blackout Challenge’ Has Now Allegedly Killed Seven Kids + More
The TikTok ‘Blackout Challenge’ Has Now Allegedly Killed Seven Kids
TikTok is facing multiple lawsuits from parents who say their children died of strangulation attempting the “blackout challenge,” after the app showed them videos of other people trying it.
One suit filed against the company in June alleges that at least seven specific children died last year while attempting the challenge, which the complaint says “encourages users to choke themselves with belts, purse strings or anything similar until passing out.” All the children who reportedly died were under 15 years old.
The most recent lawsuit was filed by the parents of eight-year-old Lalani Walton, and nine-year-old Arriani Arroyo. However, it cites several other children that also died after attempting the challenge as evidence that TikTok was aware of the problem.
The company has faced lawsuits and fines over the access children have to its platform before. In 2019, it agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission that it allowed users under 13 to sign up without a parent’s permission. About a year later, it introduced Family Pairing mode, which lets parents link their accounts to their children’s and control the amount of content they see and how much time they can spend on the app.
Gun Applicants in NY Will Have to List Social Media Accounts
As missed warning signs pile up in investigations of mass killings, New York state is rolling out a novel strategy to screen applicants for gun permits. People seeking to carry concealed handguns will be required to hand over lists of their social media accounts for a review of their “character and conduct.”
It’s an approach applauded by many Democrats and national gun control advocacy groups, but some experts have raised questions about how the law will be enforced and address free speech concerns.
Some of the local officials who will be tasked with reviewing the social media content also are asking whether they’ll have the resources and, in some cases, whether the law is even constitutional.
‘It’s Ridiculous’: NY Mets Pitcher Slams COVID Testing, Says ‘Stop Testing,’ ‘Stop Acting Like COVID Is Far Worse’ Than Other Things
New York Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt said “it’s ridiculous” that “we’re still doing” COVID testing, and said we need to “stop acting like COVID” is worse than other things out there.
The MLB pitcher spoke with the press Thursday after he had to miss playing with his team the last week because he was out on the COVID protocol list. It came after he said he took the test and then let his team know that he had tested positive for COVID. The two-minute-long clip was shared on Twitter from the New York Post and can be seen here.
When pressed by one reporter regarding what he felt the solution was, he replied, “stop testing.”
“I mean, not trying to get too much into it, but I was never sick. Never had a symptom. So, sitting out for two weeks or possibly a week for zero symptoms. I don’t know.”
Maine Health Workers Lose Bid to Remain Anonymous in Vaccine Lawsuit
Maine healthcare workers suing to stop the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers have lost a bid to remain anonymous.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston argued the nine workers, who are identified only as John and Jane Does, did not present a substantial privacy interest and failed to prove their fear of harm should they be publicly identified, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The federal court gave them until Friday to comply with the order or appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, the newspaper reported.
Maine’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers went into effect on Oct. 29, 2021. While it provides for a medical exemption, there is no exemption for religious objections.
LA County’s Indoor Mask Mandate Could Return by End of July
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health said Thursday that the county could move into the “high” risk COVID-19 threshold by next Thursday, prompting the return of an indoor mask mandate.
“The newest projected date of crossing the threshold of 10 admissions per 100,000 residents…is now next week on July 14,” said Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.
If the county does cross the threshold, it will reinstate the indoor mask mandate on July 29.
In a press conference, Ferrer said that an overwhelming majority of cases were from the two most recent strains of COVID-19. “The CDC does estimate that across the county for the week that ended July 2, BA.4 and BA.5 combined, accounted for just over 70% of specimens,” Ferrer added. “That’s a considerable increase from 39% just two weeks ago.”
Beijing Appears to Retract Vaccine Mandate After Pushback
The Chinese capital Beijing appears to have backed off a plan to launch a vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents.
While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm. They also said vaccinations would continue on the principle of “informed, voluntary consent.”
The city announced Wednesday that starting next week, people had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter some public spaces including gyms, museums and libraries. It drew intense discussion as city residents worried how the sudden policy announcement would disrupt their lives.
Windsor Police Service Suspends COVID Mandate for Employees
The Windsor Police Service lifted its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees on Thursday, paving the way for unvaccinated officers to immediately start returning to work after being suspended without pay since November.
“Given the current circumstances we’re in, it was determined that this particular policy was no longer needed,” said acting Chief Jason Bellaire. The Windsor Police Services Board voted to suspend the requirement Thursday during an in-camera meeting.
While the mandate has been lifted for current department members, Bellaire said new hires will still have to be vaccinated.
Before the board’s decision, the Windsor and Stratford police services were the only ones in Ontario that still had COVID-19 vaccine mandates in place.
House Oversight Opens Probe Into Handling of Reproductive Health Data
A House committee has launched an investigation into how companies are handling reproductive health data. House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) sent separate letters to personal health apps and data broker companies expressing their concerns.
The letters seek information on the potential misuse of sensitive, private data that could be used to invade the privacy of those seeking reproductive healthcare.
“In an era of unprecedented digital surveillance, the distribution of personal health data further threatens the health, safety and privacy of people and healthcare providers across the country,” the letter said.
They further stressed that reproductive health applications, which are known to share information with data brokers and other third parties, have also had recent data privacy concerns.
Digital Mental Health Companies Draw Scrutiny and Growing Concerns
Many U.S. adults aren’t able to find help because of a shortage of therapists. Nearly 40% are struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So millions of people are turning to online companies like BetterHelp that have sprung up in the past several years, advertising quick access to therapy. Often backed by venture capital firms, these for-profit businesses offer a wide mix of services, including one-on-one and group video therapy visits with licensed professionals, supportive texting, coaching videos, and prescriptions for medications.
“Online companies inundate the internet with appealing ads that make promises about treating depression and anxiety,” said Marlene Maheu, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Telebehavioral Health Institute, who trains practitioners in best online practices and evaluates services for employers who may want to offer them as benefits to workers. “But can you trust them with your kid who’s in trouble?”
Musk Expected to Take ‘Drastic Action’ to Break Twitter Deal, Report Says
Elon Musk is expected to take “drastic action” to get out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, The Washington Post wrote yesterday in an article citing “three people familiar with the matter.”
The anonymous sources seem to be from Musk’s camp. “Musk’s team has concluded it cannot verify Twitter’s figures on spam accounts,” and the Musk side’s “doubts about the spam figures signal they believe they do not have enough information to evaluate Twitter’s prospects as a business,” the Post wrote.
Musk’s people have also reportedly “stopped engaging in certain discussions around funding for the $44 billion deal, including with a party named as a likely backer.”
According to the Post, one of its sources said Musk’s team is now “expected to take potentially drastic action. The person said it was likely a change in direction from Musk’s team would come soon, though they did not say exactly what they thought that change would be.”
Exclusive: Free VPNs Are on the Rise, but so Are the Risks for Your Privacy
With the price of living going up and a global economic recession on the way, it’s not so surprising that people are looking to save as much money as they can. That’s probably why free VPNs have seen a surge in popularity lately.
That’s worrying as free VPNs have been in the news many times for failing to protect users’ data. Bean VPN is only the last service found guilty of leaking millions of users’ records.
With the demand for best VPN services offering paid plans seeming to be in decline, the risks for your privacy are on the rise as never before. Here is everything you need to know.
‘Asleep at the Wheel’: Canada Police’s Spyware Admission Raises Alarm
An admission from Canada’s national police force that it routinely uses powerful spyware to surveil citizens has prompted concern from experts, who warn the country is “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to regulating and reining in the use of the technology.
During a parliamentary session in late June, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) submitted a document, first reported in Politico, outlining how a special investigative team covertly infiltrates the mobile devices of Canadians.
The RCMP, which has long evaded questions over whether it uses spyware to track Canadians, provided the information about its “on-device investigative tools” in response to a question from a Conservative lawmaker about how the federal government collects data on its citizens.
Ron Deibert, a political science professor at the University of Toronto and head of Citizen Lab, is one of the world’s leading experts on the surveillance techniques used by authoritarian regimes. He and others have long suspected police and government agencies in Canada were using the technology. But absent from the disclosure was any indication of who the government is purchasing the software from.
Disney Employees Suing Company Over Vaccine Exemption Refusals + More
Disney Employees Suing Company Over Vaccine Exemption Refusals
The Walt Disney Company punished and then fired three long-time employees because they refused the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds, according to a new lawsuit against the company.
On July 30, 2021, Disney announced that its employees would have to take one of the several COVID-19 vaccines to continue working with the company.
When Florida’s government forbade “vaccinate or terminate” policies, the company began a relentless push to vaccinate all employees, including those who had requested religious exemptions, the lawsuit states.
According to the plaintiffs, Disney burdened religious vaccine objectors with restrictions that went beyond its original pandemic policy.
TikTok Wants ‘Psychographic Analysis’ of Your Kids, GETTR CEO Warns
As the Senate Intelligence Committee calls on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate TikTok’s data practices, one social media exec is also raising a red flag on the popular app’s true intentions.
“The real concern here when we talk about consumer information, it’s not the email address, it’s not even a credit card,” GETTR CEO Jason Miller said on “Mornings with Maria” Thursday. “Assume that the CCP already has that. It’s the psychographic analysis of our kids.”
Miller’s comments come after Chinese-owed TikTok admitted it had access to American users’ data for months while U.S. employees did not have access themselves, according to leaked audio obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The CEO told FOX Business’s Maria Bartiromo that, eventually, China will know the thoughts of young Americans better than U.S. intelligence. Miller further argued that TikTok’s data algorithm was built to predict users’ behaviors and actions.
San Diego Loses 22% of Its Police Force Due to Vax Mandates
San Diego is witnessing the largest exodus of police officers from the city since 2009 and the majority of them are quitting because of the city’s continued obsession with COVID vaccine mandates.
More than 230 San Diego police officers have left city employment in the 2022 fiscal year alone (252 sworn deputies in 2021), totaling around 22% of all deputies in active service.
City officials are scrambling to increase incentives to lure new officers into the ranks, including the approval of a 10% pay raise, but many within the department were well aware that this outcome was looming. Officials now say replacing deputies as fast as they exit will be impossible.
Meanwhile, the lack of officers has led to horrendous wait times for emergencies, according to anonymous SDPD officer the_disgruntled_po3.
California Backs off of Previously Strict School COVID Guidelines, Won’t Require Masks in Schools
California is backing down on its previously strict COVID protocols, specifically for students and faculty in schools across the state.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released new guidance last week that mostly went into effect on July 1. The mask mandate for K-12 schools and childcare locations ended after March 11, but the new guidance applies to the 2022-2023 school year.
The guidance states that no one can be “prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a school unless wearing a mask would pose a safety hazard,” and schools must provide masks to students who do not bring their own mask to school and want to wear one.
As NBC Bay Area reported, students in California won’t be forced to get vaccinated against COVID until at least July 1, 2023, depending on if the vaccine receives full approval from federal groups for every age.
Proposed Ohio Amendment Would Limit Vaccine Mandates
A proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would limit vaccine mandates imposed by businesses, healthcare providers and governments is a step closer to the statewide ballot.
The proposal would prohibit those entities from discriminating against people based on vaccination status or mandating any vaccine, medical procedure, treatment or medical device.
The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved the language Tuesday.
Supporters must next collect thousands of valid signatures from registered voters, equal to at least 10% of votes that are cast in the 2022 gubernatorial election. It wouldn’t appear on a statewide ballot until 2023 at the earliest.
New Mexico Governor Withstands Lawsuits Over Pandemic Orders
New Mexico residents who say they endured constitutional rights violations, depression and anxiety under aggressive public health restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak have abandoned a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after most allegations were dismissed by a judge.
The move came after a string of adverse rulings in state and federal courts for plaintiffs in several lawsuits that challenged the authority of the Democratic governor and state health officials to impose public health restrictions, such as mask mandates, that were phased out earlier this year.
Attorney Jonathan Diener said Tuesday that a dozen plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit against Lujan Grisham and state health officials after a federal magistrate judge last week dismissed most of their claims.
COVID Czar Says Health Officials Weighing Return of Indoor Mask Mandate
COVID czar Salman Zarka urged the public on Wednesday to wear face masks when indoors and said that officials will meet in the coming days to consider making the practice mandatory as new virus cases continue to tick upward.
Zarka said if the number of seriously ill and hospitalized patients continues to go up, it will be necessary to make face masks compulsory in enclosed spaces. He said officials will discuss the matter in the coming days.
But Zarka noted that in his professional opinion, face masks should already be mandatory indoors. Israel canceled its indoor face mask requirement in April after having made them mandatory for close to two years, barring a two-week period in 2021.
Zarka said that the sixth wave of infections the country has experienced since the pandemic began in early 2020 is being driven by an Omicron variant.
Norwegian Cruise Line to Drop Requirement for COVID Test
Norwegian Cruise Line is dropping a requirement that passengers test negative for COVID-19 before sailing unless it is required by local rules.
The company said Wednesday that it will drop the testing requirement on Aug. 1 except on ships sailing from places with local testing rules, including in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and Greece.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires pre-trip testing for passengers on 94 ships taking part in CDC’s voluntary COVID-19 program, including Norwegian ships that sail in the U.S.
Norwegian requires vaccinated passengers in the U.S. to show a negative antigen test for COVID-19 within two days of their trip or a negative PCR test within three days of sailing. Unvaccinated children under 12 are subject to more testing when they board and leave the ship.
Europe Faces Facebook Blackout
Europeans risk seeing social media services Facebook and Instagram shut down this summer, as Ireland’s privacy regulator doubled down on its order to stop the firm’s data flows to the United States.
The Irish Data Protection Commission on Thursday informed its counterparts in Europe that it will block Facebook-owner Meta from sending user data from Europe to the U.S. The Irish regulator’s draft decision cracks down on Meta’s last legal resort to transfer large chunks of data to the U.S., after years of fierce court battles between the U.S. tech giant and European privacy activists.
The European Court of Justice in 2020 annulled an EU-U.S. data flows pact called Privacy Shield because of fears over U.S. surveillance practices. In its ruling, it also made it harder to use another legal tool that Meta and many other U.S. firms use to transfer personal data to the U.S., called standard contractual clauses (SCCs). This week’s decision out of Ireland means Facebook is forced to stop relying on SCCs too.
Meta has repeatedly warned that such a decision would shutter many of its services in Europe, including Facebook and Instagram.
VMO2 and Nokia Help Create U.K.’s ‘First 5G-Connected Hospital’
Virgin Media O2 and the NHS have collaborated to build the U.K.’s ‘first 5G-connected hospital,’ which they claim will transform healthcare.
The Maudsley Smart Hospital and Maudsley Smart Pharmacy trials are funded by NHS digital with tech provided by VMO2 and Nokia, and are designed to explore the efficiency, safety and security benefits of using 5G-connected technologies in hospitals, across the usual catch-all 5G-adjacent sectors of IoT, AR and artificial intelligence (AI).
Two wards at Bethlem Royal Hospital in South London are now using ‘dedicated, near-real-time connectivity to power e-Observations, where clinicians use handheld devices to update patient records, saving valuable time and improving accuracy.’
Elon Musk Queries Journalist Over Allegations of Government-Driven Censorship on Twitter
Elon Musk has called on an independent journalist to provide information on how the U.S. government is allegedly pressuring Twitter to suspend the journalist’s account for posting anti-vaccination content.
Musk asked Substack writer, Alex Berenson, in a July 6 post on Twitter, about Berenson’s allegation that the U.S. government had pressured Twitter to censor him for posting his opinion questioning the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Can you say more about this: ‘… pressures that the government may have placed on Twitter …’,” Musk said, referencing Berenson’s blog post about being suspended by Twitter. “I wish I could,” Berenson said minutes later, responding to Musk, “but the settlement with [Twitter] prevents me from doing so. However, in the near future, I hope and expect to have more to report.”
Berenson’s Twitter account was reinstated on July 6 after the social media platform “permanently” banned him over purportedly violating its COVID “misinformation” policy. This follows Berenson filing a lawsuit against Twitter in April.
An Air Force Vet Who Worked at Facebook Is Suing the Company Saying It Accessed Deleted User Data and Shared It With Law Enforcement
A former Facebook staffer and Air Force veteran is suing Meta saying he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about a protocol that let Facebook employees access deleted user data.
Brennan Lawson filed his lawsuit with a California court on Tuesday. Insider has viewed the lawsuit, in which Lawson said he was hired in July 2018 to work on Facebook’s escalations team.
Lawson says in 2019 Facebook introduced a protocol that allowed people on his team to access Facebook Messenger data even if it had been deleted by a user.
This is at odds with what Facebook told users, per the lawsuit. “Facebook had represented to users for years that once content was deleted by its users, it would not remain on any Facebook servers and would be permanently removed,” Lawson’s lawsuit states.
The Danger of License Plate Readers in Post-Roe America
Since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, America’s extensive surveillance state could soon be turned against those seeking abortions or providing abortion care.
One of the key technologies that could be deployed to track people trying to cross state lines is automated license plate readers (ALPRs). They’re employed heavily by police forces across the U.S., but they’re also used by private actors.
ALPRs are cameras that are mounted on street poles, overpasses, and elsewhere that can identify and capture license plate numbers on passing cars for the purpose of issuing speeding tickets and tolls, locating stolen cars, and more. State and local police maintain databases of captured license plates and frequently use those databases in criminal investigations.
Judge Rules in Favor of Father of 12-Year-Old Los Angeles Student Who Challenged COVID Vaccine Mandate + More
Judge Rules in Favor of Father of 12-Year-Old LAUSD Student Who Challenged COVID Vaccine Mandate
A judge has ruled in favor of the father of a 12-year-old student who filed a lawsuit challenging the Los Angeles Unified School District’s student COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
After three months of hearing arguments and taking the case under submission, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff found that the resolution approving the vaccine directive clashed with state law.
The judge reversed his tentative ruling in which he said he was initially inclined to find in favor of the LAUSD in the case brought by the father, who is identified in court papers only as G.F. and his son as D.F.
In sworn testimony, the father said his son received other required childhood immunizations but believes the COVID vaccine would cause irreparable harm to his son, who previously came down with the virus and recovered from it.
Beijing Rolls out China’s First-Ever COVID Vaccine Mandate
Beijing residents wanting to enter a raft of public places will need to show proof of vaccination from Monday, the first time China has deployed a vaccine mandate, as the city rushes to quash a new outbreak caused by a more infectious subvariant.
The city will require live performances, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, museums and gyms, as well as training and tutoring locations, to restrict entry to people who are vaccinated, Li Ang, deputy director at the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday.
The requirement will also apply to medical staff, people working in community service operations, home furnishing operators, express delivery providers and conference attendees. They’ll need to have received a booster shot to continue as normal, Li said. There will be exemptions for people who don’t qualify for vaccination.
The city will maintain a requirement for people to get tested at least every three days to enter all public venues.
Disney Co-Opts Your Childhood Memories to Explain Their Ad Technology
If you’ve ever wondered how the Walt Disney Corporation is mining your data for targeted advertisements across platforms, today’s your lucky day. Baymax of Big Hero 6 and Edna Mode from The Incredibles are here to explain it all.
In leaked videos first obtained and reported on by Vice, Disney characters have been extracted from their original contexts and inserted into the company’s ad sales training and marketing materials. There, in a nightmare scenario, the facsimiles of your beloved childhood memories are re-animated and re-voiced to tell you all about Disney’s innovative advertising technologies.
The cartoon vaguely assures viewers that, all the while, the company is “exceeding the highest standards of privacy and data security.” Whose standards? Who knows.
Journalist Alex Berenson Reaches Settlement With Twitter
Independent journalist Alex Berenson and Twitter have agreed to a settlement over a lawsuit that alleged the big tech company violated Berenson’s constitutional rights when it banned him.
The parties “have reached a settlement in principle,” according to a joint stipulation filed in federal court in California on June 29. However, additional time is needed to finalize details of the settlement, the parties said.
Twitter banned Berenson, formerly of The New York Times, from the platform in August 2021, claiming he violated the company’s rules against promoting COVID-19 misinformation.
Berenson said in the suit that he was assured by a senior executive that he would not be banned, that he did not break the rules, and that Twitter broke its promises and policies in removing him.
Shanghai Announces Two New Rounds of Mass COVID Testing
The city of Shanghai on Tuesday announced two new rounds of mass COVID-19 testing of most of its 25 million residents over a three-day period, citing the need to trace infections linked to an outbreak at a karaoke lounge.
The city government said on its official WeChat account that all residents in nine of the city’s 16 districts would be tested twice from Tuesday to Thursday. People in parts of three other districts would also have to undergo tests.
City lockdowns and repeated mass testing in China, part of its zero-COVID policy that aims to eradicate all outbreaks, have brought case numbers down but many of the measures have fueled anger and taken a toll on the economy.
Xi’an Shuts Back Down as China Finds First Cases of New Omicron Subvariant
China’s northwestern city of Xi’an, home to 13 million people, was partially shut down on Wednesday after it reported the country’s first outbreak of a highly transmissible new Omicron subvariant that is fast dominating the United States and Europe.
The city recorded 18 COVID infections from Saturday to Monday, all of which are of the Omicron BA.5.2 subvariant, according to local disease control officials.
BA.5.2 is a sub-lineage of BA.5, which is already dominant in the U.S. and appears to escape antibody responses among both people previously infected with COVID-19 and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to researchers.
On Tuesday, Xi’an officials announced sweeping restrictions that would shut down parts of the city for seven days starting from Wednesday.
Meta Sues Chinese Company’s U.S. Subsidiary for Scraping Facebook and Instagram Data
Facebook’s parent company Meta has announced that it’s suing the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese tech company, accusing it of offering data scraping services for Facebook and Instagram.
The social networking giant also revealed that it’s suing an individual, who the company alleges set up automated Instagram accounts to scrape data from some 350,000 Instagram users.
Both cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Twitter Launches Legal Challenge in India Over Orders to Block Content
Twitter has mounted its first legal challenge to the Indian government over official orders to take down content.
The social media company has had a tough time in India since last year, spending months locked in a high-stakes standoff with the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over freedom of speech.
The San Francisco-based company filed a petition before the High Court of Karnataka, a state in southwest India, on Tuesday according to a listing reviewed online by CNN Business.
Twitter declined to comment on the case. But a source familiar with the filing said that the company had decided to challenge some orders by the government as they “demonstrate excessive use of powers and are disproportionate.”
AI Robo-Doctor Speeds up Sight-Saving Technology
A humanoid robot has quickened sight-restoring research by finding the best conditions to grow replacement retina layers from human stem cells. The artificial intelligence (AI) system known as Maholo took just 185 days to complete experiments that would have taken humans two and a half years. In just a quarter of the time, Maholo processed trial-and-error research made up of 200 million possible conditions.
The robot was created by a joint research group at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamic Research (BDR) in Kobe, Japan, to grow functional retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells from stem cells.
Team leader Genki Kanda said: “Using robots and AI for carrying out experiments will be of great interest to the public. However, it is a mistake to see them as replacements. Our vision is for people to do what they are good at, which is being creative.”
“We can use robots and AI for the trial-and-error parts of experiments that require repeatable precision and take up a lot of time, but do not require thinking.”