Login
Big Brother News Watch
Canada’s Trucker Convoy Challenges the Elites + More
Canada’s Trucker Convoy Challenges the Elites
Over the last two years, Canada has descended into the kind of mass-surveillance state you read about in dystopian novels. In December, the country’s public health agency admitted it has tracked data from 33 million devices monitoring people’s movement and activity during the lockdowns — and plans to continue doing so for the next five years.
In a country of only 38 million people, that’s an extraordinary number. Other disturbing anecdotes of government overreach have emerged, from Canadian citizens being detained for weeks when entering the country with no ability to contact anyone, to Alberta police issuing tickets at unpermitted Christmas gatherings.
Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his state-sponsored media would have you believe that a fringe group of miscreants have hijacked the Canadian trucking industry.
But none of this is true. In reality, the tens of thousands of truckers who traveled in a 45-mile-long “Freedom Convoy” to Ottawa have been overwhelmingly peaceful, well-organized and politically moderate when interviewed.
Truckers’ Bridge Blockade Forces Shutdowns at Auto Plants
The truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions is tightening the screws on the auto industry, forcing Ford, General Motors and other car companies to shut down plants or otherwise reduce production on both sides of the U.S. border.
The bumper-to-bumper demonstration by the self-proclaimed Freedom Truck Convoy entered its fourth day Thursday at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, disrupting the flow of auto parts and other products between the two countries.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities braced for the possibility of similar truck-convoy protests across the United States, and authorities in Paris and Belgium banned road blockades to head off disruptions there too.
Biden Faces Possible Trucker Threat
President Biden is facing the possibility of truck driver protests mirroring those in Canada over vaccine mandates that would come as the administration works to combat supply chain disruptions, vaccinate more Americans and strengthen the U.S. economy.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday warned police partners of protests similar to those in Canada that it said could even disrupt the Super Bowl or the State of the Union address.
DHS “has received reports of truck drivers potentially planning to block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates.
Appeals Court Refuses to Reinstate Federal Employee Vaccine Mandate While It Reviews Case
A federal appeals court said Wednesday it would not reinstate President Joe Biden‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees while it reviews a lower court’s order putting the requirement on hold — potentially setting the stage for the case to go to the Supreme Court.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not explain its reasoning in the unsigned order that said the court was expediting its review of the case. The court said the Biden administration’s request to put the lower court’s ruling on hold was being “carried with the case,” signaling that the appeals court would not rule on the request until it had conducted a fuller review of the case.
Last month, a federal judge in Texas blocked the administration from enforcing the requirement, calling the mandate an overstep of presidential authority and citing a Supreme Court decision to strike down a separate administration mandate that had applied to private-sector workers.
U.S. Navy Discharges 240 Service Members for Refusing COVID Vaccine
The U.S. Navy said Wednesday that it has discharged 240 service members for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine as required by the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate. All of those service members received honorable characterizations for their discharges from service, meaning they are still eligible to receive veteran benefits.
As of Wednesday, the Navy has granted 10 permanent medical exemptions, 250 temporary medical exemptions and 50 administrative exemptions to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for active-duty service members, according to the release.
The Navy said it has received 3,348 requests for religious exemptions from active-duty service members and nearly 800 such requests from Navy Reserve members. So far, no requests for religious exemptions have been granted.
Citing Religious Beliefs, Lawsuit Challenges NYC Vaccine Mandate
Five Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers have joined a suit challenging the city’s vaccine requirements for indoor spaces.
Two of the plaintiffs are rabbis at yeshivas. The suit, filed Feb. 7 in New York, challenges the “Key to NYC” program and a recent COVID vaccination mandate for religious and private school employees. The mandate was opposed by many haredi Orthodox yeshivas and groups representing them, including Agudath Israel of America.
Three of the Jewish plaintiffs are parents suing on behalf of a total of 12 of their children, all minors, whose COVID vaccination they oppose on what they claim are religious grounds.
The unnamed plaintiffs allege an “unprecedented abuse of power” in regard to COVID vaccine requirements for indoor spaces in the city. The plaintiffs, who also include a Catholic resident of New York, object to the vaccine on religious and constitutional grounds.
White House Faces New Pressure to Back Lifting Mask Rules
The White House is facing pressure to revise its position on wearing masks, as declining COVID-19 cases and pandemic fatigue among voters leads an increasing number of Democratic states to lift requirements on public masking.
Some governors and local health officials are calling for the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release guidance for an off-ramp for mask usage.
Mask requirements are one of the only remaining COVID-19 restrictions in place in many areas of the country. But agency director Rochelle Walensky is insistent that it’s not yet time to lift mask requirements anywhere.
Texas and Missouri Are Investigating GoFundMe for Blocking Donations to Ottawa’s Freedom Convoy
The attorneys general of Texas and Missouri have opened investigations into GoFundMe for blocking donations to the “Freedom Convoy” protesters in Ottawa.
The organizers had set up a GoFundMe fundraiser, which raised $10 million in donations to finance the protest and buy fuel but GoFundMe shut it down on Saturday.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday that he had sent a civil investigative demand to GoFundMe, instructing it to look into whether it had violated a Texas act on deceptive trade practices by withholding the funds from protesters.
“GoFundMe’s response to an anti-mandate, pro-liberty movement should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights,” Paxton said in a statement.
Oscars 2022 Ceremony Won’t Require COVID Vaccinations
This year’s Oscars ceremony will not require in-person attendees to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19, Variety has confirmed.
After a 2021 ceremony that saw the Academy Awards downsize to a smaller gathering at Los Angeles’ Union Station, the Oscars will return to its traditional setting in the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard for its upcoming ceremony on Mar. 27. It is not yet known if the audience size might be reduced this year.
Although the Academy will suggest attendees to be vaccinated, the 2022 Oscars ceremony will also require attendees to be tested prior to attending, with unvaccinated guests having additional and more stringent testing requirements.
Paris and Brussels to Ban ‘Freedom Convoy’ Inspired by Canadian Protest
Authorities in Paris and Brussels said Thursday they will block convoys from entering both cities, potentially thwarting European plans for the type of demonstration that has paralyzed Ottawa, closed border crossings into the United States and inspired copycats.
Paris police said in a statement that convoys now en route to the French capital from across the country will not be able to enter the city for planned rallies this weekend “because of a risk to public order.” Penalties for blocking public roads include prison time, fines and driving bans, the statement noted.
Not long afterward, the mayor of Brussels, where several groups planned to converge on Feb. 14, announced that a procession modeled on Canada’s so-called “Freedom Convoy” would not be allowed in. Vehicles arriving to protest will be “diverted,” the mayor said.
New Zealand Police Move in to Break up Anti-COVID Vaccine Mandate Protests
New Zealand police on Thursday arrested 120 people as they attempted to forcefully remove hundreds of protesters camped outside parliament to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and tough coronavirus restrictions.
Inspired by truckers‘ demonstrations in Canada, several thousand protesters this week blocked streets near the parliament in capital Wellington with trucks, cars and motorcycles.
It has been three days since the protesters blocked roads and set up camp at the parliament grounds.
Facebook and Spotify Face Complementary Nightmares
The two developing tech dramas of early 2022 — the struggle of Meta Platform Inc.’s Facebook to retain users as surveillance-based advertising becomes more difficult and Spotify Technology SA’s Joe Rogan controversy — are really about one thing: Finding the right balance between ad-based and subscription-based monetization models on the internet.
My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Parmy Olson pointed out recently that Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. (Google and Facebook) are finding it hard to remain primarily ad-funded, and that diversification makes other tech giants, such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., less vulnerable.
Yet, unlike Amazon and Microsoft, both Google and Facebook, with 81% and 97% of revenue, respectively, coming from advertising, are at their core content companies, or, narrower still, media companies. They don’t produce the content, but provide platforms for it and ways of locating it.
Apple to Address AirTag Stalking Problem With Upcoming Features
Apple today is announcing a series of upcoming updates for AirTag and the Find My network aimed at addressing the problem of AirTag accessories being used to stalk individuals or people’s property without their knowledge or consent.
Following the AirTags’ spring 2021 introduction, numerous media reports and updates from local police departments have warned of incidents where AirTags were being used for unwanted tracking, including of people and valuable property — like cars thieves intended to steal. This resulted in a growing PR nightmare for Apple, which had positioned itself as a consumer privacy-focused company.
Today, Apple is responding to feedback from consumers, safety experts and law enforcement agencies with plans to change how AirTags work.
Air Force Denies Over 3,200 Religious Exemption Appeals for COVID Vaccine + More
Air Force Denies Over 3,200 Religious Exemption Appeals for COVID Vaccine
A total of 3,222 requests for religious exemptions to the military COVID vaccine mandate have been rejected by the Air Force, while just nine have been granted and 2,556 are pending, according to new data from the Air Force.
The data released Tuesday also states that 142 active duty airmen have been “administratively separated” as of Monday afternoon.
Eight of the exemption requests were granted on initial review, and one was granted on appeal. The Air Force has denied 443 appeals, while over 2,500 exemption requests and 730 appeals are pending.
Hogan Launches $2 Million Lottery to Encourage Booster Shots
Maryland residents who get a booster shot could win up to $1 million in a lottery that Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday in an effort to sway more people to get another dose.
Hogan said that the variant showed how much additional protection a booster shot provides, and that the state will start calling and texting people to encourage them to get another dose if they haven’t already.
The state will give away $2 million over 12 weeks, starting next Tuesday with a $500,000 prize given to a resident selected at random from the state’s records of boosted individuals. Every week after, someone selected at random will receive $50,000 until the final week, when a grand prize of $1 million is slated to be handed out May 3. The money will come from state lottery proceeds, Hogan said.
Watchdog Group Pushes Google, YouTube Parent Company for Government Censorship Requests
An ethics watchdog is using shareholder activism to try to pry information about whether the Biden administration has been essentially outsourcing censorship to Google and YouTube.
“We have filed a proposal for consideration by the shareholders to require Alphabet to produce a report showing if anyone from the government asked them to remove content,” Peter Flaherty, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, told FOX Business.
In January, the National Legal and Policy Center filed a shareholder resolution calling on Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google and YouTube, to disclose requests from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal agencies or entities about taking down information.
Big Government Is a Constant Threat to Religious Liberty
Freedom of religion means the government cannot force religious institutions to act against their core beliefs.
Unfortunately, many on the Left seem to think that the First Amendment’s establishment clause offers a blank check to impose secular values on any religious institution that interacts with the federal government in any way.
That’s not how our Founding Fathers intended this country to operate. They rightly understood that civil authority must remain completely separate from religion, because as soon as the two become intertwined, the government begins to make decisions about which aspects of Americans’ spirituality to permit and which aspects to repress. They also understood that religious faith is vital to the character of any self-governing people.
Americans are a tolerant people — toleration is written into our founding documents, and takes pride of place in the highest law in the land, the U.S. Constitution. But we should never tolerate the loss of our fundamental liberties, especially the right to freely practice the religion of our choice.
We’re Pro-Vaccine but Can’t Support California Lawmaker’s School COVID Vaccine Mandate
Two weeks ago, state Sen. Richard Pan introduced a new bill which would require all children K-12 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend school in person after Jan. 1, 2023. Unvaccinated children would be forced into remote learning.
Every parent wants safe schools. But our children deserve medical care driven by facts, not politics. As physician epidemiologists, we have analyzed the data and found that this mandate is not supported by the scientific evidence — which is why no European countries or other U.S. states have implemented their own.
U.S. Trucker Convoy to Washington Gathers Steam
Canada’s truckers have paralyzed Ottawa and unsettled the country’s politics over vaccine and mask mandates. Now Americans want in on the action.
A nationwide convoy — starting in California before heading toward Washington, DC — is expected to get underway on Mar. 4 amid a growing clamor from those who believe their freedoms are under threat from government COVID-19 restrictions.
New York Lets Broad Mask Mandate Expire, but Not in Schools
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the state will end a COVID-19 mandate requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings, but will keep masking rules in place in schools for now.
Masks, though, will still be required in some places, including in healthcare facilities, certain types of shelters and public transit. Private businesses will also be free to set their own masking rules for staff and patrons.
Hochul said the state will revisit the question of whether to continue requiring masks in schools the first week in March, after many children return to classrooms following planned winter breaks in late February.
LA Lawmakers Move to Strip Sheriff of COVID Vaccine Mandate Enforcement
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday decided that Sheriff Alex Villanueva would no longer be responsible for enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The decision came after Villanueva refused to fire unvaccinated deputies who did not comply with the mandate. As a result, the board requested a draft of the new enforcement policies be provided by next month. Those policies will allow the personnel director to place enforcement responsibilities in the hands of someone who complies with the mandate, the newspaper reported.
In a statement on Tuesday, the sheriff framed the decision as a push to fire 4,000 unvaccinated people from his department. “This is nothing more than another politically motivated stunt by the Board, which has no bearing on public health, but will definitely harm public safety,” his statement said.
New York Official Offers to Host Cheerleading State Championship so Teams Can Avoid Vaccine Requirement
Cheerleaders from multiple Long Island high schools gathered on Tuesday to voice their support for changing the site of next month’s state championships due to a COVID-19 vaccination requirement at the current venue, the Rochester Institute of Technology.
“We just want to be able to be inclusive. We’ve been working together for so long and we just wanted to be able to finish the season strong,” Alyssa-Kate DiGiantamasso, one of the cheerleaders, said at a press conference Tuesday. “So when half of our team is vaccinated, and half of them aren’t, we just decided that instead of arguing with each other, we’re going to respect each other’s decisions.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined the cheerleaders Tuesday and offered to host the cheerleading state championships at the Mitchel Field Athletic Center in Uniondale, New York, without a vaccination mandate.
California Students Protest Mask Mandate After Seeing Photo of Unmasked Gavin Newsom
Hundreds of students at a California high school protested their school’s mask mandate this week.
About 300 students from Chino Hills High School decided to protest after seeing photos of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti without masks during the NFC Championship Game, according to Fox 11.
Their protest came a day after students at high schools in the Chicago area walked out to protest their school district’s mask mandate.
Boston, Denver Among Cities Ditching Proof of Vaccination Requirements as COVID Cases Fall
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Tuesday the city will lift its proof-of-vaccination requirements for indoor public places once certain COVID-19 case and hospitalization thresholds are met, making it the latest to do so as the rate of new infections declines nationwide.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Friday dropped the city’s requirements to either wear a mask or show proof of vaccination in order to enter businesses.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a meeting of the Illinois Restaurant Association last week the city’s mandate could end “in a matter of weeks,” Eater reports.
Sweden Ends COVID Testing as Pandemic Restrictions Lifted
Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for COVID-19 even among people showing symptoms of an infection, putting an end to the mobile city-square tent sites, drive-in swab centers and home-delivered tests that became ubiquitous during the pandemic and provided essential data for tracking its spread.
The move puts the Scandinavian nation at odds with most of Europe, but some experts say it could become the norm as costly testing yields fewer benefits with the easily transmissible but milder Omicron variant and as governments begin to consider treating COVID-19 like they do other endemic illnesses.
Lawmakers Warn Clearview AI Could End Public Anonymity if Feds Don’t Ditch It
Democratic lawmakers are ratcheting up efforts to limit the federal government’s work with notorious surveillance firm Clearview AI. In a series of letters addressed to the Departments of Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and the Interior on Wednesday, the lawmakers called on the agencies to end their use of the company’s tech, arguing the tools “pose a serious threat to the public’s civil liberties and privacy rights.”
The agencies named in the letters were all identified in a Government Accountability Office report released last year as having used Clearview AI tools in domestic law enforcement activities.
In their letter to the DHS, the lawmakers claimed Clearview AI’s tech — which reportedly relies on a database of more than 4 billion faces, many of which are scraped from the open internet — could effectively eliminate the notion of public anonymity if left unchecked.
Controversial Identity Verification Software Dropping Facial Recognition Requirement
The private contractor ID.me is dropping the facial recognition requirement from its identity verification software that is widely used by state and federal agencies.
The decision comes after a mounting backlash from activists and lawmakers to plans for the IRS to use ID.me because of privacy and accuracy concerns.
The IRS announced Monday that it would be dropping plans to require Americans to upload a video selfie to access basic tax information.
New York Cheerleaders Protesting COVID Vaccine Requirement at HS Championships + More
New York Cheerleaders Protesting COVID Vaccine Requirement at HS Championships
Cheerleaders from Sachem North and Sachem East high schools are joining fellow cheerleaders in New York protesting a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the 2022 New York State Cheerleading Championships at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
The cheerleaders explained that no other state championships at the high school level have a vaccine mandate, and they are demanding that it take place at another venue. An online petition has circulated and there were over 15,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
Twitter Bans Freedom Convoy Account From Platform
The official Twitter account of the Canadian truckers protesting over COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions around the pandemic was suspended by the social media network on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Twitter told Newsweek: “The account you referenced has been permanently suspended for violating the Twitter Rules on ban evasion.”
The self-styled “Freedom Convoy” — comprising big rigs and protesters — first arrived in the capital on the evening of Jan. 28, clogging up the city’s main streets and bringing it to a standstill.
The international support for the truckers has been growing, with protests taking place from the UK and the Netherlands to the U.S. and New Zealand.
$200 Gift Cards for Vaccinated Minnesota Kids
Minnesota officials are offering gift cards to Minnesota kids who get vaccinated against the coronavirus to start 2022, and there are many places to find a vaccine in and near Mendota Heights.
Minnesota kids who are 5 to 11 will get a $200 Visa gift card if they receive their first and second doses of the coronavirus vaccine between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 through the “Kids Deserve a Shot” campaign. Families can receive a $200 gift card for each child vaccinated during that period.
Minnesota’s “Kids Deserve a Shot” campaign also awarded $100,000 scholarships to five students in 2021 to encourage children to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The campaign also offered a slew of other prizes to encourage kids to get vaccinated, including tickets and gear from Minnesota’s professional and college sports teams, a “zookeeper for a day” experience, and much more.
Canadian Protesters Block the Busiest International Crossing in North America as Tensions Ramp up Over COVID Rules
Canadian protesters have impeded access to the busiest international crossing in North America again Tuesday, escalating tensions as frustration over demonstrations against COVID-19 rules continues to roil the nation.
After idling trucks and vehicles snarled roadways in major Canadian cities over the weekend, “Freedom Convoy” drivers hindered travel Monday at the Ambassador Bridge that links Windsor, Ontario and Detroit.
Canadian-bound traffic was still shut down Tuesday morning, Michigan officials tweeted, while U.S.-bound traffic was flowing with limited bridge access, Windsor Police and 511Ontario tweeted.
Protests also blocked traffic overnight Monday at an access point between Alberta and Montana, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, further threatening supply chain disruptions.
Canadian Police Seize Fuel at Trucker COVID Protest as Court Silences Horns
Police in Canada’s capital said on Monday they had seized thousands of liters of fuel and removed an oil tanker as part of a crackdown to end an 11-day protest against COVID-19 measures, adding truck and protester numbers had fallen significantly.
The protest, which has gridlocked Ottawa, has been largely peaceful but ear-splitting horn blaring by protesters saw a court on Monday grant an interim injunction preventing people from sounding horns in the city’s downtown.
When It Comes to Masks, the CDC Is Its Own Worst Enemy
Critics, pundits and social media accounts jump to accuse Joe Rogan of spreading COVID misinformation when he interviews experts who utter even a syllable with which they disagree. Yet they seem reluctant to call out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for doing much worse.
The CDC spread what amounts to misinformation in its promotion of cloth masks, which countless medical experts have said are useless against Omicron, the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States.
In a press release and accompanying tweet, the CDC announced that N95/KN95 offered the most protection against COVID in indoor settings. It lowers your risk by some 83% over going maskless. But in the accompanying graph, the CDC claimed cloth masks cut the risk by 56% compared to forgoing masks altogether.
As is usually the case, the devil is in the details. And there are a lot of particulars rendering this study questionable.
Anti-Vaxxers Facing Termination Under Mandate for NYC Workers Rally at Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall
Dozens of New York City firefighters, FDNY employees and other municipal workers rallied Monday at the Brooklyn Bridge and City Hall to protest a vaccine mandate that could leave them without jobs by the end of the week.
With a Friday deadline looming and their employment status in the balance, the sign-waving, slogan-chanting anti-vaxxers said Mayor Adams and other city leaders have no right to decide what’s best for their bodies.
As of last week, some 4,000 city workers faced firing over their refusal to get the lifesaving jab. Adams has said city employees have had more than enough time to comply with the mandate, which took effect Nov. 1.
As Mask Mandates Come to End Around U.S., Will Vaccination Proof Follow?
A number of states announced this week that they will end mask mandates in schools and indoor settings as U.S. COVID-19 cases continue to decline, raising questions as to whether or not proof of vaccination will also start to ease across the country.
Officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon all announced a plan to phase out mask mandates in the coming months, leaving behind just a handful of states that still require most people to wear protective coverings indoors.
Now, some local governments are also moving to end requirements that individuals be vaccinated against COVID-19 in indoor settings. In Contra Costa, California, the health department announced on Friday that restaurants and bars will no longer be required to ask for vaccination status since more than 80% of residents are already inoculated.
New Zealand Convoy Protesters Clog Streets Near Parliament
Hundreds of people protesting vaccine and mask mandates drove in convoy to New Zealand’s capital on Tuesday and converged outside Parliament as lawmakers reconvened after a summer break.
Among the protesters’ grievances is the requirement in New Zealand that certain workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus, including teachers, doctors, nurses, police and military personnel.
Many protesters also oppose mask mandates — such as those in stores and among children over about age 8 in school classrooms — and champion the ideal of more “freedom.”
GoFundMe’s $10 Million Shutdown of Canadian Truckers Shows It’s Time to Rein in Big Tech
When GoFundMe shut down funding Friday for the truckers’ Freedom Convoy, it didn’t just clobber Canadian rig drivers. It dealt a blow to the rights of Americans. Silicon Valley executives are trying to limit the causes Americans support, favoring leftist ones and canceling conservatives.
The convoy set up a fundraising site on GoFundMe to pay for fuel, food and lodging. Many Americans rushed to support it. It had reached $10 million in donations when GoFundMe pulled the plug.
GoFundMe shuts down fundraising for causes the left doesn’t like. That’s as dangerous to our democracy as when other Silicon Valley tech giants like Facebook and Twitter silence viewpoints.
We Americans have a constitutionally protected right to donate money to whatever causes we choose, the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo. Money funds political activity, and limiting where we can donate is like gagging our speech.
TikTok Shares Your Data More Than Any Other Social Media App — and It’s Unclear Where It Goes, Study Says
Two of your social media apps could be collecting a lot of data on you — and you might not like what one of them is doing with it.
That’s according to a recent study, published last month by mobile marketing company URL Genius, which found that YouTube and TikTok track users’ personal data more than any other social media apps.
The study found that YouTube, which is owned by Google, mostly collects your personal data for its own purposes — like tracking your online search history, or even your location, to serve you relevant ads. But TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, mostly allows third-party trackers to collect your data — and from there, it’s hard to say what happens with it.
Faith Leaders Ask Facebook to Drop Instagram for Kids Plan
Facebook is facing a new adversary in the battle against its proposal to create an Instagram for kids — religious leaders.
A coalition of 75 faith leaders signed a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, on Tuesday asking him to permanently ditch plans to create an Instagram platform for kids under 13.
In September, the company said it would put the plans on pause after internal documents leaked by a whistleblower escalated scrutiny on Instagram’s impact on teen and youth users, but it did not go so far as to totally drop the plans — as advocates and lawmakers have pushed for.
IRS Dodged a Cyber Minefield by Ditching Facial Recognition
A wave of relief swept through the cybersecurity community yesterday as the Internal Revenue Service scrapped plans to make taxpayers share the most personal of personal information: the identifying features of their faces.
The now-scrapped system run by contractor ID.me had prompted dire warnings from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and privacy and security advocates, who said it could make taxpayers even more vulnerable to damaging hacking and privacy violations, as Drew Harwell reports.
“Facial recognition technology is based on your face and that’s something you can’t change easily. Once you lose control of it, it’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to regain control of your identity,” Jeramie D. Scott, senior counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told me.
Joe Rogan Controversy Leads Rumble to Make Him a Public $100 Million Offer + More
Joe Rogan Controversy Leads Rumble to Make Him a Public $100 Million Offer
On the same day it was reported that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to employees but maintained his commitment to keeping Joe Rogan’s podcast on the platform, video hosting website Rumble tweeted at Rogan, offering to match the $100 million deal the podcaster reportedly signed to host his podcast exclusively on Spotify.
“How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years?” read the statement signed by Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski.
Rogan signed a deal that was reportedly “worth more than $100 million,” with Spotify in 2019 to be the exclusive host of his podcast, according to CNBC. That deal has come under fire in recent weeks as clips of old episodes have resurfaced containing Rogan’s use of racial slurs and spreading COVID misinformation.
Thousands Protest Vaccine Mandates in Canada, Further Fraying Nerves
Thousands of people demonstrated in Canadian cities, including the financial hub Toronto, on Saturday as mostly peaceful but noisy protests against vaccine mandates spread from Ottawa, the capital.
The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
About 5,000 people demonstrated in Ottawa, police said, while hundreds more gathered in Toronto, Canada’s biggest city, and Quebec City, coinciding with the city’s annual winter carnival. Four people were injured in Manitoba after a pick-up truck drove into a crowd late Friday, police said.
Oklahoma National Guard Members Can’t Sue Anonymously Over COVID Vaccine Mandate, Judge Rules
A federal judge ruled this week that members of the Oklahoma National Guard cannot sue the Biden administration anonymously over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying that the public interest overrides concerns about privacy or personal safety.
“A decision to be vaccinated, or not, against COVID-19 is certainly a personal matter, but it is not intrinsically sensitive, let alone highly sensitive,” Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot wrote in an order issued Wednesday in the case.
Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, along with 16 unnamed members of the Oklahoma National Guard, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City in December seeking to block the vaccine mandate imposed by the Biden administration on military personnel.
New Jersey to Lift School Mask Mandate
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday will begin unraveling the state’s aggressive anti-COVID rules, starting with a school mask mandate for all students and kids in child care settings.
The move by the Democratic governor, whose state faced some of the worst COVID casualty rates of the pandemic, offers a clear sign that the steady decline in cases that have followed the Omicron variant could lead to a new stage of life under Covid. It follows a similar decision last month by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat.
A spokesperson for Murphy, Mahen Gunaratna, said New Jersey students in grades K-12 and those in a child care setting will not be required to mask up starting Mar. 7.
Canadian Truckers Protesting Vaccines Turned to a Christian Fundraising Site After GoFundMe Blocked Donations. They’ve Already Raised $4 Million.
Canadian truckers in Ottawa who are protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates have turned to a Christian fundraising site after GoFundMe blocked donations to their campaign.
The group known as Freedom Convoy has since raised more than $4 million on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo.
The Freedom Convoy has been protesting in the country’s capital for 10 days, using their trucks to block streets while supporters bring them fuel on sleds. The protest caused the mayor of Ottawa to declare a state of emergency, Insider previously reported.
Alaska Truck Drivers Rally Against Vaccine Mandates
Anchorage Daily News reported:
More than a 100 Alaska truck drivers rallied from Anchorage to Eagle River on Sunday to support Canadian truck drivers opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Anchorage Assembly member Jamie Allard organized the event to support the truckers who have rallied in Ottawa since last weekend to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Judge Temporarily Halts Youngkin Order Making Masks Optional in Virginia Schools After Lawsuit From School Boards
An Arlington judge on Friday barred enforcement of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s mask-optional order for schools — a major victory for the seven school boards that sued to stop it, and a sharp rebuke for the new governor.
In her 10-page order, Arlington Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo offered a check to Youngkin’s assertion of gubernatorial authority, writing that the Virginia Constitution gives authority to local school boards to make safety and health decisions — including masking — for their students.
She also wrote that a state law passed over the summer requiring school districts to comply with federal health guidance makes Youngkin’s mask-optional order impossible to carry out, because it, too, delegates authority over decisions such as masking to local school boards.
Costa Rica Mandated COVID Vaccines for Children. But Not Everyone’s on Board.
Last November, Costa Rica became the first country in the world to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for minors, with all children 5 and older required to get vaccinated, barring medical exemptions.
One study by the University of Costa Rica’s School of Statistics found that 75% of respondents said they supported the vaccination mandate for people 18 and older, with support dropping along with age groups; 69% of people agreed with a vaccine mandate for 12-17-year-olds, while 59% were supportive of the measure for children between 5-12.
Under the mandate, a child can get vaccinated even if their parents do not consent, however that process is not instantaneous, according to public health expert Roman Macaya Hayes, who heads the Costa Rican Social Security Institute.
Legal Challenges of Employer COVID Vaccine Mandates Largely Tossed out, Experts Say
Legal challenges of employer vaccine mandates and health measures are being tossed out as arbitrators in Canada largely side with the need to maintain safe workplaces during a pandemic, legal experts say.
Most of the cases with rulings so far involve employee grievances in unionized workplaces, which have an expedited decision-making process compared with the courts, they say. A scan of decisions issued in recent weeks shows arbitrators are largely erring on the side of caution and minimizing health risks to employees and the public, experts say.
A recent arbitration decision between Hydro One Inc. and the Power Workers’ Union dismissed the grievances of multiple workers placed on unpaid leave for failing to comply with the utility’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.
COVID: Bavaria Suspends Vaccine Mandate for Nursing Staff
The southern German state of Bavaria will not enforce compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 for nursing staff in institutions such as hospitals and care homes from mid-March as originally planned, the state’s premier, Markus Söder, said on Monday.
This comes as Bavaria plans to loosen more anti-pandemic measures. The state government says that the healthcare system was currently in no danger of being overwhelmed in the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a high infection rate.
Although Söder said he was in favor of a universal vaccine mandate in Germany, he said that he was now skeptical about compulsory vaccination just for those working in the healthcare sector.
Australia to Reopen to Double-Vaccinated Travelers
Australia will reopen its borders from Feb. 21 to foreign travelers who have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday.
Australia’s borders have been shut to most non-residents since March 2020. Its tough pandemic policies made headlines last month when world men’s tennis no. 1 Novak Djokovic was deported from the country for being unvaccinated.
The condition is you must be double-vaccinated to come to Australia,” Morrison said during a news conference on Monday. “That’s the rule. Everyone is expected to abide by it.”
Huge Government Agencies Clash Over Imposing Facial Recognition
Even as the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies are pushing to require Americans to consent to facial recognition to sign on to government websites, the government’s central management office has refused to use the technology on its own secure log-in service, Login.gov.
The General Services Administration, which oversees federal offices and technology, says the face-scanning technology has too many problems to justify its use as an identity-verification service.
Dave Zvenyach, director of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, told The Washington Post that the agency “is committed to not deploying facial recognition … or any other emerging technology for use with government benefits and services until rigorous review has given us confidence that we can do so equitably and without causing harm to vulnerable populations.”
The 5 Technologies That Will Change the Future of the Human Race
In my book, Tech Trends in Practice, I talk about a lot of technology trends that are already moving out of the R&D departments and into everyday life, but the following five I think will have the most profound impacts on our society and the human race as a whole.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning refer to the ability of machines to learn and act intelligently, meaning they can make decisions, carry out tasks and even predict future outcomes based on what they learn from data.
AI and machine learning already play a bigger role in everyday life than you might imagine.
Meta May Be Forced to Shutter Facebook, Instagram in EU
Meta says it may have to abandon the European Union.
The note was buried in the company’s annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meta said that if officials on both sides of the Atlantic can’t reach an agreement on data transfers and warehousing, the company may have to pull its Facebook and Instagram platforms from Europe.
At this point, the statement is probably less of a threat and more an acknowledgment of the regulatory headwinds that the American company faces in the European Union. The SEC requires publicly traded companies to disclose issues that may affect profits and losses, and few things are more profitable for Facebook than user data.
Price Comparison Site Sues Google for $2.4 Billion Over Alleged Antitrust Breach
A Swedish price comparison website is suing Google for 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) over allegations that it manipulated search results in favor of its own competing shopping service.
PriceRunner said Monday that it plans to take Google to court in Stockholm. It’s seeking compensation for damages in relation to a 2017 ruling from the European Commission that Google breached antitrust laws by giving preference to its own shopping comparison product, Google Shopping, through its popular search engine.