Big Brother News Watch
UK Cabinet:’It’s Time to Live With COVID’… You Won’t Have To Show Proof of Vaccination + More
UK Cabinet: It’s All Over! It’s Time to ‘Live With COVID’… and You Won’t Have To Show Proof of Vaccination to Attend Mass Gatherings
COVID passports will not be compulsory at music festivals, sports events and other mass gatherings when lockdown restrictions are lifted next month.
UK Ministers are set to shelve plans for the mandatory use of “COVID certification” after Freedom Day on July 19.
Students Sue Calif. State University System Over Vaccine Requirement
In what may become precedent-setting legal cases, three California State University, Chico, students who have recovered from COVID-19 are suing the state school, saying the California State University system’s requirement that they receive a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to class in the fall places them at risk of dying.
It comes as eight Indiana University students also filed a federal lawsuit against the state school, alleging that its COVID-19 vaccine requirement violates both their constitutional rights and the state’s new anti-vaccine passport law.
COVID Vaccines Donated to African Countries Are Not Recognized by EU Travel Certificate
The African Union (AU) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have voiced “concern” after it emerged that Europe’s digital ‘green pass‘ does not recognize a vaccine that was donated to many African countries through the COVAX initiative.
The European Union (EU) Digital COVID Certificate enables people who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by its medicines regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), to travel freely within the bloc.
But the pass only recognizes AstraZeneca doses manufactured in Europe (branded Vaxzevria) and not those manufactured by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer — the Serum Institute of India (SII) — which is branded Covishield.
Federal Judge Grants Facebook’s Motion to Dismiss in CHD v. Facebook
Judge Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Tuesday granted Facebook’s motion to dismiss against Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) complaint filed against Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and its fact checkers in August 2020.
In a 45-page decision, the judge opined that CHD’s allegations — that Facebook is effectively a “state actor” on behalf of the federal government and engaged in false advertising and racketeering — failed to state legal claims.
“While the decision is disappointing, we are not shocked,” said Mary Holland, CHD president and general counsel.
What Happened to Free Speech?
The U.S. government recently announced that it seized “websites used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union.” The U.S. Department of Justice claimed in a statement that the websites were used by the Iranian government, “disguised as news organizations or media outlets” to attack the U.S. “with disinformation campaigns and malign influence operations.” What happened to freedom of the press?
In all, 33 websites have been blocked, ranging from Iranian state sponsored media outlets such as Press TV and Al-Alam News Network to the unrelated London based Islamic channel, Ahlulbayt TV.
Face Masks That Can Detect Coronavirus: Harvard, MIT Researchers Create Wearable Tech
The face mask that you wear in the future could alert you of a coronavirus diagnosis, thanks to researchers at Harvard University and MIT.
Researchers have created wearable biosensors that can detect the presence of the virus in a person’s breath. These button-activated masks give COVID results within 90 minutes in a simple-to-read format similar to an at-home pregnancy test.
The mask can diagnose COVID at accuracy levels comparable to standard diagnostic tests, according to the researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and MIT.
Moderna’s Stock Hits Record Price on Tuesday
Shares of Moderna Inc. MRNA, 1.74% were up 2.3% in premarket trading on Wednesday, the day after the company’s stock price hit an all-time high of $234.60 when the market closed on Tuesday.
Moderna has one authorized product, its two-dose, mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine; the global success of its shot, along with BioNTech BNTX, -0.82% and Pfizer Inc.’s PFE, -0.37% COVID-19 vaccine, has opened the door for broader interest in mRNA technology. Moderna’s stock has soared 124.4% so far this year, while the S&P 500 SPX, 0.09% is up 14.2%.
GumGum, SpotX, and IRIS.TV Come Together to Support the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s Initiative to Boost COVID Vaccine Education and Awareness Across the U.S.
GumGum, a global technology and media company specializing in contextual intelligence, today announced that they are working alongside IRIS.TV and SpotX (now part of Magnite) to help the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative promote COVID-19 vaccine education in relevant, suitable video environments across the web.
The Ad Council turned to this team of partners to help deliver a campaign that could make a difference. Knowing that 69% of consumers are more likely to look at an ad that’s relevant to the context they are viewing, GumGum ensured that ads not only appeared next to “health” related video content but applied its sentiment analysis capabilities to ensure that ads were placed next to video content with a neutral and positive sentiment.
Google and Microsoft Shut Down Six-Year Legal Ceasefire as Infighting and Antitrust Scrutiny Intensifies
Google and Microsoft have brought their six-year legal truce to an end after months of public and private infighting, with onlookers suggesting the breakdown leaves both companies more vulnerable to regulatory pressure.
Under the terms of the deal, the companies settled a number of outstanding patent lawsuits, agreed to try and resolve disagreements bilaterally before reporting issues to regulators, encouraged partnership on mutual business interests in areas like search and AI, and temporarily stopped executives at both companies openly attacking one another.
Police Warn of WhatsApp Scams in Time for Social Media Day
Naked Security by Sophos reported:
You might be forgiven for thinking that every day is social media day, given how much gets shared each day via social media services.
For the past 11 years, however – yes, we’ve been addicted to social media for at least that long – the date 30 June has been given capital letters and referred to as Social Media Day, a 24-hour period when we are supposed to…
…well, we’re not entirely sure how you cheer about any one day of social media content more than any other, so we can’t advise you how to celebrate #SocialMediaDay. But we do think that #SocialMediaDay is a great excuse to take a few minutes to stop and think about how to improve your safety and security on social media in general.
Putin Rejects Mandatory COVID Jabs as Russia Sees Record Deaths
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he was opposed to mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for Russians but urged the jab-sceptic population to get inoculated, as his country battles a deadly third wave.
His comments came as Russia earlier Wednesday reported 669 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, a pandemic high of fatalities for the second day in a row, according to a government tally.
“I do not support mandatory vaccinations,” the Russian president said.
Netherlands Changes Travel Alerts for Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Latvia & Sweden
The Netherlands has downgraded its COVID-19 travel advice from code orange to code yellow for all, or part of five European countries. The new advice is set to enter into force on Thursday, July 1, the same day the Dutch CoronaCheck app is supposed to be valid across the European Union.
The EU has said the Netherlands is ready to connect to the bloc’s system for managing Digital COVID Certificates, but it has not yet established the connection.
Facebook Hits $1 Trillion Value After Judge Rejects Antitrust Complaints + More
Facebook Hits $1 Trillion Value After Judge Rejects Antitrust Complaints
A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook Inc (FB.O) that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was “legally insufficient.”
Facebook shares rose more than 4% after the ruling. The share price rise put Facebook’s market capitalization over $1 trillion for the first time.
Public Citizen and Daily Kos Pinch-Hitting for Big Pharma in RFK Lawsuit
On Friday, June 11, resourceful process servers working for Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Chairman Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. served a subpoena in San Francisco on Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, a liberal progressive news and activist forum. The subpoena, from a Westchester County New York Supreme Court Judge, orders Moulitsas to disclose the true name of “Downeast Dem” — a blogger who libeled Kennedy on the Daily Kos platform on Aug. 29, 2020.
Moulitsas had been fighting the order in court since December 2020, when Kennedy filed, and dodging the subpoena for a fortnight. Earlier this month, Daily Kos security guards at the company’s San Francisco headquarters twice blocked Kennedy’s process servers from entering the building.
The Daily Kos’ malicious article claimed that Kennedy spoke at a Nazi rally in Berlin “organized by right-wing extremist organizations, including the AFD party and various anti-Semitic conspiracy groups as well as the neo-Nazi NPD party.”
Why Google Can’t Bring Itself to Make the Internet Respect Your Privacy
Google is in an interesting position when it comes to making the internet respect your privacy. It controls the world’s largest advertising platform, the most used search engine, and the most popular web browser. Together, that means Google has more influence over how your data is gathered and tracked online than any other company.
It’s significant then, that, over the past few years, Google has joined the effort to eliminate the worst offender when it comes to tracking, third-party cookies. Those are the little pieces of code websites use to track your activity across other sites and apps.
VIDEO: Airlines Fear Chaos Over Digital COVID Passports
Airlines have warned of chaos over the EU’s digital COVID certificates plan, due to start on July 1, unless countries work together better.
SSM Health to Require COVID Vaccination by September
Wisconsin State Journal reported:
SSM Health will require COVID-19 vaccination by the end of September for its nearly 40,000 employees, providers and volunteers, the organization said Monday, becoming the first hospital group in Wisconsin known to announce a mandate.
SSM Health said employees can request an exemption for medical or religious reasons, which is consistent with the organization’s practice for other required vaccines.
Henry Ford Health System to Mandate COVID Vaccines for Workers
Henry Ford Health System will become the first Michigan health system to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for its workforce, the hospital system announced this morning.
The mandate will take effect Sept. 10, and applies to “all team members, students, volunteers and contractors,” a press release said.
“We acknowledge the magnitude of this decision and we did not make it lightly,” President and CEO Wright Lassiter III said in the press release.
N.J. to Lift COVID Mask Mandate in Schools This Fall
When New Jersey students, teachers and staff return to the classroom for full-time, in-person learning this fall, face masks will no longer be required.
Barring any “dramatic change in our situation before the beginning of the school year,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that the state will drop its COVID-19 mask mandate in schools when the 2021-22 academic year begins.
Rep. Kevin Mccarthy Reveals GOP Framework for Big Tech Legislation
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is offering a framework for what appears to be a counterproposal to the set of bipartisan bills to rein in Big Tech circulating in the House — saying House Republicans are ready to make tech behemoths “face the music.”
The California Republican explained that their framework would be based on three principles: accountability, transparency and strengthening antitrust review.
COVID Vaccine for Latinos: CDC Steps up Efforts With WhatsApp to Increase Vaccinations
International Business Times reported:
The Delta variant has presented a new challenge for the Department of Health and Human Services to close the vaccine gap among the disproportionately unvaccinated Latino population.
In efforts to reduce this vaccine disparity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered Monday with WhatsApp, a texting platform used widely among the Latino community, to deliver vaccine information to Spanish speakers. The chat is called “Mi Chat Sobre Vacunas COVID.”
U.S. Senate Republicans Press CDC to End Mask Mandate on Airplanes, Transit
A group of Senate Republicans urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday to stop requiring fully vaccinated Americans to wear masks on public transportation, including airplanes, trains and buses but also in airports and train stations.
“Over 150 million people in the United States are fully vaccinated and mask mandates have been lifted across the country. But the CDC inexplicably still hasn’t lifted the mask mandate for public transportation,” Cruz said. “It’s long past time for President Biden and the CDC to follow the science.”
Why Some Biologists and Ecologists Think Social Media Is a Risk to Humanity
Social media has drastically restructured the way we communicate in an incredibly short period of time. We can discover, “Like,” click on, and share information faster than ever before, guided by algorithms most of us don’t quite understand.
And while some social scientists, journalists, and activists have been raising concerns about how this is affecting our democracy, mental health, and relationships, we haven’t seen biologists and ecologists weighing in as much.
That’s changed with a new paper published in the prestigious science journal PNAS earlier this month, titled “Stewardship of global collective behavior.”
Consumers Satisfied With Smart Home Devices, but Data Privacy Concerns Linger
A new report from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) found that current owners of smart home devices, such as smart thermostats, appliances and speakers, are overwhelmingly satisfied with these technologies; however, upfront costs and data privacy concerns remain key barriers for those who do not yet own any smart home devices.
Hospitals Want Mandatory COVID Vaccinations for All Maine Healthcare Workers
Portland Press Herald reported:
The association representing Maine hospitals is advocating for the state to mandate vaccinations for all healthcare employees in Maine once federal regulators grant the vaccines full approval.
“We would prefer if there is a mandate, that we want the mandate to cover all health care providers,” said Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association. “Job No. 1 for us, however we can get it done, is to get them vaccinated.”
Anti-Vaccine Protesters Gather at ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ + More
‘No Vax Passports’: Anti-Vaccine Protesters Gather at ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ Reopening
A group of anti-vaccine protesters showed up to the opening night of Bruce Springsteen’s “Springsteen on Broadway” Saturday, holding signs against the theater policy that required show attendees to have proof of vaccination by a WHO– or FDA-approved vaccine.
Protesters held signs reading messages including “no vax passports” and “Bruce Springsteen is for segregation on Broadway.” The small group also shouted slogans such as “stop segregation” as attendees arrived for the show.
Principal Brief Filed in Children’s Health Defense’s Case Against FCC Rule Allowing Base Station Antennas on Homes
On June 23, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) filed the opening brief in its case against the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Over-the-Air Reception Devices” (OTARD) Rule Amendment, which went into effect March 29. This submission is the main brief for CHD in the case it filed on Feb. 2 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
CHD will hold an information and Q&A session about the brief this Wednesday, June 30 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. Register here.
Health Experts Urge Biden Administration to Push COVID Vaccine Passports, Mandates
Health experts are pressuring the Biden administration to promote the use of COVID-19 vaccine orders and passports, after the White House ruled out implementing such measures on the federal level.
In April, the White House emphatically said no to mandating federal COVID-19 vaccine passports and argued that the rights and privacy of citizens should be protected. “The government is not now, nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”
Google Starts Warning Users if Search Results Are Likely to Be Poor
Google has started warning users when they search for a topic that is likely to have poor results, as part of its effort to tackle “data voids” on the search engine.
The new warning was spotted by Renee DiResta, an academic who studies misinformation at Stanford University. “It looks like these results are changing quickly,” Google will now caution users. “If this topic is new, it can sometimes take time for results to be added by reliable sources.”
I Spy: Are Smart Doorbells Creating a Global Surveillance Network?
I have got a new doorbell. It’s brilliant. It should be; it cost £89. It’s a Ring video doorbell; you’ll have seen them around. There are others available, made by other companies, with other four-letter names such as Nest and Arlo. When someone rings my doorbell, I’m alerted on my smartphone. I can see who is there, and speak to them.
My phone is ringing! C major first inversion chord, arpeggiated, repeated, for the musically trained – you’ll recognise it if you’ve heard it. It’s a delivery. Amazon, as it happens; Amazon acquired Ring in 2018, reportedly for more than $1bn.
Vaccination Mandatory For Aged Care Workers as Astrazeneca Made Available to All Australian Adults
Under-40s will finally be allowed to get the AstraZeneca vaccine if they want it, while aged care workers will have to get at least one vaccine dose by mid-September, as Australia moves to “war game” its bungled vaccine program.
Scott Morrison, who spent more than two hours with the nation’s premiers and chief ministers in an “emergency” national cabinet meeting on Monday evening, emerged to announce long called-for changes to the commonwealth’s vaccine rollout.
New Coronavirus Rules Enacted for Moscow Restaurants
Restaurants and cafes in Moscow on Monday began requesting that patrons provide proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test as the Russian capital faces a surge of new infections.
According to a decision by city authorities last week, all Moscow restaurants, cafes and bars must only admit customers who have been vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months or can provide a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours.
Britain and EU Closing in on Vaccine Passport Deal to Unlock Quarantine-Free Holidays Despite Merkel Bid To Blacklist UK
Britain and the EU are closing in on a deal to accept each other’s vaccine passports for quarantine-free travel in a major foreign holidays boost.
Negotiators are nearing an agreement to unlock travel despite Angela Merkel’s attempts to ban UK tourists from the continent over Delta variant fears.
Telstra Ramps Up 5G in Regional Australia Despite COVID Conspiracy Theories and Protests
COVID-19 conspiracy theories and protests did not prevent Telstra from ramping up its 5G network construction over the past year, with 75% of the population now able to access the new technology.
In the past year, despite lockdowns and restrictions, Telstra was able to keep up construction of its new 5G network. The telecommunications company now has 5G in more than 200 cities and towns, and at least 50% coverage in more than 2,700 suburbs.
Pennsylvania Legislature Passes Vaccine Passport Ban, Gov. Wolf Plans Veto + More
Pennsylvania Legislature Passes Vaccine Passport Ban, Limits on Secretary of Health, Gov. Wolf Plans Veto
Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported:
Citing government overreach and intrusions into citizen privacy, the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Thursday passed a ban on many uses of “vaccine passports” and a halt to the secretary of health’s ability to issue masking, social-distancing and travel-limiting orders to people who are not sick.
The final approval in the Senate by a party-line vote of 29-21 included one independent senator siding with 28 Republicans, and all Democrats voting “no.”
The bill already has been approved in a similar party-line vote by the House. It will head to the desk of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who plans to veto it.
Ohio House Passes Controversial Bill to Ban Vaccine Requirements
The Ohio House on Thursday approved a controversial bill to ban employers from making workers get vaccinated. Although the bill was tweaked to satisfy critics.
Earlier this week, the bill that would prevent businesses and schools from requiring employees or students to get vaccinations stalled in committee. Now, the House has passed a similar measure by tacking an amendment onto a Senate approved bill.
College Vaccine Mandates Rile GOP States
Conservative state lawmakers are moving to block public and private universities from requiring returning students to have proof of COVID vaccinations or get the vaccine itself, in a push that could complicate President Joe Biden’s effort to get shots to young adults.
Executive orders or legislation in states like Arizona and Florida ban universities from mandating students show proof of vaccination status and come as the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus is surging. College-age Americans have the lowest vaccination rates and are least likely to make plans to get a shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
San Francisco Leaders Receive Backlash After Vaccine Mandate
KRON Channel 4 San Francisco reported:
San Francisco leaders are receiving backlash to its latest vaccine mandate for city employees.
A group that represents Black city employees calls the mandate harsh and insensitive.
They’re known as the Black Employee Alliance and Coalition Against Anti-Blackness and they represent more than 400 Black employees in the city.
They say their members shouldn’t have to choose between a vaccine and their job, especially considering the historical medical treatment of African Americans.
Google Delays Phase Out of Tracking Tech by Nearly 2 Years
Google will delay by nearly two years the phase out of Chrome web browser technology that tracks users for ad purposes, saying that it needs more time to develop a replacement system.
The tech giant on Thursday moved its deadline to remove so-called third-party cookies to late 2023 rather than January 2022 as was initially planned.
Amazon and Google Are Being Investigated for Failing to Remove Fake Product Reviews
British regulators are investigating whether Amazon and Google have broken consumer protection law by not doing enough to protect shoppers from fake product reviews.
The probe is the latest in a string of investigations piling up against tech giants around the world, as officials and policymakers scrutinize claims of anti-competitive behavior. The investigations could result in hefty fines and increase pressure on companies including Facebook (FB) and Apple (AAPL) to change the way they do business.
Russia Mandates Vaccinations for Some as Virus Cases Surge
They tried grocery giveaways and lotteries for new cars and apartments. But an ambitious plan of vaccinating 30 million Russians by mid-June still has fallen short by a third.
So now, many regional governments across the vast country are obligating some workers to get vaccinated and requiring the shots to enter certain businesses, like restaurants.
Israel Prepares to Reinstate Mask Mandate as Delta Variant Drives New COVID Surge
Israel is set to reinstate an indoor mask mandate in a bid to contain outbreaks of COVID-19, the latest setback for one of the world’s most vaccinated countries as the infectious Delta variant drives a surge of cases in children and vaccinated people.
The mandate will be restored when the average number of daily COVID-19 cases over the course of a week exceeds 100, Israel’s health ministry said Thursday, a threshold its public health director Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis believes will be met Sunday.
