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States Rally Around Proposed U.S. Laws to Rein in Big Tech + More
States Rally Around Proposed U.S. Laws to Rein in Big Tech
A bipartisan group of U.S. state attorneys general sent a letter to lawmakers on Monday urging them to pass a series of bills that tighten antitrust laws aimed at Big Tech companies like Facebook and Alphabet’s Google.
The letter, which was addressed to leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, expressed explicit support for six bills that passed the House Judiciary Committee in June. Four of the bills directly address Big Tech’s platform powers while two others empower enforcers.
More Boycotts Coming for Facebook
Leaders of the Stop Hate For Profit social media boycott group are discussing whether to organize another campaign against Facebook in light of an explosive investigative series from the Wall Street Journal, Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer tells Axios.
The intrigue: Sources tell Axios that another group, separate from the Stop Hate For Profit organization, is expected to launch its own ad boycott campaign this week.
Why it matters: Facebook is experiencing lots of pressure to address some of its platform’s ills in response to the Journal’s five-part series.
Tucker Carlson Says Vaccine Mandate Is ‘Takeover of the U.S. Military’
Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson reiterated his criticism of vaccine mandates, saying that the policy forcing U.S. military members to get the jab was an attempt to weed out those who didn’t share the political views of President Joe Biden.
In a monologue on Monday, the host of Tucker Carlson Tonight criticized the order by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that all active-duty military members be fully vaccinated as being: “Specifically designed to separate the obedient from the free.”
1 Week Till New York Health Care Worker Vaccination Deadline
The deadline for all healthcare workers across New York State to get the COVID-19 vaccine is now only one week away. If employees choose not to get vaccinated by Monday, September 27, they’ll lose their jobs.
Out of the 786 health care workers at Guthrie Medical Center in Cortland, 95% of employees reportedly have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
Federal Judge to Hear Challenge to Northern Kentucky Hospital Group’s Vaccine Mandate
A federal judge in Covington will hear arguments Wednesday about whether to temporarily stop St. Elizabeth Healthcare from requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The hospital group’s more than 10,000 employees are required to be vaccinated by Oct. 1 or obtain a medical or religious exemption.
A lawsuit filed early this month on behalf of dozens of the hospital group’s employees asks U.S. District Judge David Bunning to declare the vaccine requirement invalid.
COVID Vaccine to Be Required at All 15 Massachusetts Community Colleges
All students, faculty and staff at Massachusetts’ 15 community colleges will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January, the presidents announced Monday.
A total of 135,000 students attend Massachusetts community colleges each year.
Battle Over Texas Vaccine Mandates Taking Shape as Third Special Session Begins
The third special session of the 87th Texas Legislature got underway Monday, and so did the battle over COVID-19 vaccination mandates within the state.
KXAN counted 10 bills already filed as of Monday afternoon — six in the House of Representatives, four in the Senate. Nine were filed by Republicans and one was filed by a Democrat.
The GOP proposals include banning proof of vaccination in public or private schools, imposing penalties on companies and hospitals that terminate or deny employment to the unvaccinated, and keeping insurance companies from denying or limiting benefits to those who have not received their COVID shots.
Melbourne Police Fire Pepper Balls, Pellets to Break Up COVID Protest
Police in Melbourne fired pepper balls and rubber pellets on Tuesday to disperse about 2,000 protesters who defied stay-at- home orders to damage property, block a busy freeway and injure three officers, leading to more than 60 arrests.
It was the second day of demonstrations in the locked-down Australian city after authorities shut construction sites for two weeks, saying workers’ frequent movement was spreading the coronavirus.
During eight hours of downtown protests, demonstrators threw rocks, bottles and flares at police, as television and social media showed video of marchers chanting and attacking police cars, surrounded by mounted police and officers in riot gear.
‘Isolated’ but Defiant, Brazil’s Bolsonaro Defends Handling of COVID and Climate at U.N.
With COVID-19 and the environment at the top of the agenda at this year’s United Nations’ General Assembly, observers braced for the first world leader to speak in the UN headquarters’ storied hall: Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, notorious for both his off-the-cuff comments and controversial handling of the pandemic and the environment.
Bolsonaro declared last week that he would not get vaccinated, because he already had COVID-19.
“Why do you take a vaccine? To have antibodies, right? My antibodies rate is really high. I can show you the document,” he said in a live social media broadcast. He added that he will only make a decision about getting vaccinated “after everyone in Brazil gets the vaccine” — a dissonant voice as the General Assembly pushes this year to increase vaccination throughout the globe, and cajoling wealthier nations to share more doses with poorer ones.
German Officials Fear Anti-Mask Radicalization After Killing
U.S. News and World Report reported:
Senior politicians in Germany expressed shock over the weekend killing of a young gas station clerk who asked a customer to wear a face mask, and they warned Tuesday against the radicalization of people who oppose the country’s pandemic restrictions.
A 49-year-old German man was arrested in the fatal shooting of the clerk Saturday in the western town of Idar-Oberstein. The suspect is being held on suspicion of murder.
Thousands Gather at Freedom Rally in New York City to Oppose Vaccine Passport + More
Thousands Gather at ‘Freedom Rally’ in New York City to Oppose Vaccine Passport
Thousands gathered near Central Park in Manhattan on Saturday to express their discontent with the vaccine mandates and passport requirements implemented in the city by Mayor Bill de Blasio this month.
New York City started enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate Monday, with de Blasio warning that “there’ll be consequences” for those who do not follow the rules.
The mandate requires establishments to put up certain signage and verify customers’ COVID-19 vaccine proof, such as vaccination cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York City vaccination records, other official immunization records, the NYC COVID Safe App, or the Excelsior Pass.
D.C. Mandates Coronavirus Vaccines for Public and Private School Staff and Child-Care Workers With No Testing Option
The Washington Post via MSN reported:
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday that all D.C. teachers and school staff and early child-care workers must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 1, eliminating a testing option for these professionals who regularly interact with children who are often too young to be vaccinated.
The vaccine mandate was expanded to include workers at charter and private schools and day cares, who were not covered by a requirement announced by Bowser last month that included a test-out option.
U.S. to Ease Travel Restrictions for Foreign Visitors Who Are Vaccinated Against COVID
The U.S. will ease travel restrictions for international visitors who are vaccinated against COVID-19 in November, including those from the U.K. and EU, the White House said Monday.
Noncitizens visiting the United States will have to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test taken within three days of departure, said Jeff Zients, who is leading the nation’s COVID response efforts for the White House.
The changes will take effect in early November, which the airline industry expects will spur holiday bookings.
A COVID Pass Takes France by Storm
With the exception of weekend protesters, France has wholeheartedly embraced a new law, passed in July, that requires every adult to present a “pass sanitaire” before entering places like restaurants, cafés, museums, theaters and sports stadiums.
While President Joe Biden has told businesses they must enforce vaccine mandates, French President Emmanuel Macron has successfully instituted vaccine passports for the whole nation.
Over 500 LAFD Firefighters File Court Papers Challenging City’s COVID Vaccine Mandate
Court papers have been filed on behalf of hundreds of Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters who want a judge to set aside the city’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
The still-unofficial Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was brought on behalf of 529 firefighters who are members of the nonprofit Firefighters4Freedom Foundation. They seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting the city from demanding that firefighters receive a COVID-19 shot as a condition of continued employment.
NYC Restaurants Hire Security as Customers Resist Vaccine Mandate
If eating out at New York City restaurants wasn’t already different enough during the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses are going through another change: beefed-up security.
With Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Key to NYC Pass” vaccine mandate in effect, restaurant staff are now required to ask customers 12-years-of-age and older for proof of vaccination if they want to dine-in.
Some restaurants are adding or considering hiring security guards to protect staff as they carry out this new task.
Vaccine Mandate for 18,000 Boston Workers Rolls Out Monday
Roughly 18,000 city workers will have to submit proof of full vaccination against coronavirus or start weekly testing starting Monday, according to a new city policy. “Our purpose is to protect our employees and the public, and our work is rooted in public health guidance and based on data and science,” Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey said in a statement.
The vaccine mandate will be rolled out in three phases with employees who serve “high priority residents” including public school students, and work in city services like day care, the library and the Council on Aging must comply starting Monday.
Public-facing on-site city contractors and volunteers including public safety, parks and parking must comply by Oct. 4.
The Dark Side of Apple’s New Child Safety Features
In early August, Apple announced some new child safety features, slated to arrive in the upcoming updates to iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The first change is that the Messages app warns minors (and their parents) of sexually explicit images and gives parents the option to be alerted if a child views or sends such an image.
The second involves Siri and Search being tweaked to intervene when someone makes queries related to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) .
The last, and most major, introduces automatic on-device matching of photos (stored inside iCloud Photos) against a database of known CSAM content. If the system discovers enough flagged pictures, a report will be sent to a moderator for evaluation. If the moderator confirms the assessment, Apple will decrypt the photos and share them with the relevant authorities.
Turkey Uses Facial Recognition to Spy on Millions, Secretly Investigates Unsuspecting Citizens
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has apparently added a new weapon to its law enforcement arsenal that helps the repressive regime investigate millions of unsuspecting people on bogus criminal allegations.
Facial recognition software has become a tool for authoritarian control by the Erdoğan government, according to police documents recently obtained by Nordic Monitor. The use of the software, selectively employed in the US and other Western countries to track and identify terrorists, was deployed by the Erdoğan government to track critics, opponents and dissidents.
The move resembles China’s efforts to spy on millions using a variety of software including facial recognition to track the movements of its citizens.
Rep. Buck Compares Big Tech to Big Tobacco After Revealing Report on Instagram’s Negative Impact on Teens
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., compared Big Tech to Big Tobacco following a report showing Facebook is aware of Instagram’s negative impact on teenagers’ mental health.
Buck made the comparison in a tweet on Saturday writing, “Big Tech is the new Big Tobacco. They are harming our kids for profit.”
Speaking on “Fox News Live” on Sunday, Buck explained the comparison, arguing that young people were lured in without “appropriate warnings” and that the tech giant ignored data.
125 Indiana U. Health Employees Terminated After COVID Vaccine Mandate + More
125 Indiana U. Health Employees Terminated After COVID Vaccine Mandate
Indiana University Health announced Thursday that 125 employees have been terminated after choosing not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
A spokesperson provided the following statement: “Indiana University Health has put the safety and well-being of patients and team members first by requiring employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1. After a two-week unpaid suspension period ending Sept. 14, a total of 125 employees, the equivalent of 61 full time employees, chose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and have left the organization.”
The hospital system has about 36,000 employees.
Biden’s Push to Combat COVID Disapproved by Over Half of Americans: Poll
Roughly half of all Americans disapprove of the push by President Biden to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for up to 100 million American workers, according to a new national poll.
And nearly half of those questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday say the president’s actions to combat the surge this summer in coronavirus pandemic cases due to the highly infectious delta variant go too far.
Cleveland Browns Launch Facial Recognition Ticket Entry: Here’s How It Works
The Cleveland Browns have launched a new free option for fans to enter games at FirstEnergy Stadium using facial recognition technology.
So how does it work?
“Fans can enroll and link their ticketing account to a selfie and come to the stadium and enter in with just their face,” says Brandon Covert, VP of Information and Technology for the Cleveland Browns.
A ‘Gene Silencing’ Injection Was Just Approved for Use in Humans
Interesting Engineering reported:
A new method is nearing a critical development threshold.
The United Kingdom’s NHS approved a new cholesterol-reducing shot that will be provided to 300,000 people throughout the next three years, according to a press release from the U.K. agency.
Crucially, this marks the first use for a novel new therapeutic called “gene silencing” to treat common illnesses.
Fauci Flip-Flop on Vaccine Mandate Hammered in New RNC Ad
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is releasing a new video hammering President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci for his flip-flops on vaccine mandates.
The ad, first obtained by Fox News, features several clips highlighting Fauci’s previous statements casting doubt on federal coronavirus vaccine mandates.
“There’s no secret that I feel that we should not have central [vaccine] mandates from the federal government,” Fauci said just last month while encouraging businesses to “seriously consider the idea of mandating vaccination in the enterprise for which they are responsible whether that’s a university or a place of business.”
Big Tech and Privacy: Apple Flirts With the ‘Dark Side’
Apple has built a reputation as the “least evil” Big Tech giant when it comes to privacy. All these companies — Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon — collect our data and essentially spy on us in a multitude of ways.
Apple, however, has cultivated a reputation as by far the least invasive of our mainstream technology options. Their recent dramatic reversal on this issue has caused an uproar. What is going on, and what should we do about it?
She Didn’t Give Me Any Other Option.’ Religious Exemption Requests Spark Vaccine Mandate Debates
As more employers and businesses require COVID vaccinations, we’re finding religious exemptions are becoming a contentious issue for some.
Metro Detroit is very religiously diverse. Generally, most institutional religions, Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions do not oppose vaccines.
Exemptions involve workplace settings, schools and businesses.
It’s Getting Harder for People to Believe That Facebook Is a Net Good for Society
At this point, it isn’t exactly surprising that social media platforms like Facebook can have negative effects on society. For years, journalists, politicians, social scientists — and even biologists and ecologists — have been raising concerns about the influence Facebook has on our collective well-being. And Facebook has always defended itself by insisting that it is a net good to society because of how it brings people together.
But a new series of reports from the Wall Street Journal, “The Facebook files,” provides damning evidence that Facebook has studied and long known that its products cause measurable, real-world harm — including on teenagers’ mental health — and then stifled that research while denying and downplaying that harm to the public. The revelations, which only strengthen the case that a growing chorus of lawmakers and regulators have been making for breaking up Facebook or otherwise severely limiting its power as a social media giant, could represent a turning point for the company.
Italy to Make All Workers Show Vaccine Passports
Italy is to become the first leading European country to make coronavirus vaccine passports compulsory for all state and private employees, with unvaccinated people to be suspended without pay until they obtain one.
Renato Brunetta, the public administration minister, said that the measures had “not been seen elsewhere in Europe” and put Italy on “the front line” against COVID-19.
Australian Police Use Facial Recognition to Make Sure You’re Home During COVID Quarantine
Australia’s two most populous states are trialling facial recognition software that lets police check people are home during COVID-19 quarantine, expanding trials that have sparked controversy to the vast majority of the country’s population.
Little-known tech firm Genvis said on a website for its software that New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, home to Sydney, Melbourne and more than half of Australia’s 25 million population, were trialling its facial recognition products. Genvis said the trials were being conducted on a voluntary basis.
Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Is Unconstitutional + More
Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Is Unconstitutional
On September 9, President Joe Biden unveiled his COVID-19 Action Plan, “a six-pronged, comprehensive national strategy” to combat the pandemic. The most controversial provision, covering some 80 million Americans, mandates that all employers with 100 or more employees must ensure that each worker is either fully vaccinated or provides weekly negative COVID test results.
Republican governors were quick to condemn the mandate, with some vowing legal challenges … the courts are likely to strike down Biden’s mandate as a clear violation of the Constitution’s principles of federalism and separation of powers.
The Case Against Vaccine Passports
I was alerted to what was coming at the end of July. Under the headline “The time for debating vaccines passports is over,” Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard wrote that “it would be irresponsible, not to mention politically and economically self-defeating, to not try limiting the intermingling of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.”
Two words struck me as particularly eerie: “intermingling,” and “population.” At that point, I had decided against vaccination on various grounds. The most compelling was concern for my heart. I had had some heart troubles at the end of 2020, and I knew that the new vaccines occasionally produced heart inflammation — a frequent enough side effect that Health Canada requires a caution on the labels of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Now, evidently, my decision had consigned me to a threatening “population” requiring segregation and exclusion.
France Suspends 3,000 Unvaccinated Health Workers Without Pay
France has suspended 3,000 health workers without pay for refusing the COVID vaccine.
The health minister, Olivier Véran, said the staff had been notified in writing before the government-imposed deadline to have at least one dose.
The New Warrant: How U.S. Police Mine Google for Your Location and Search History
It’s a concerning trend, argue experts and advocates. They worry the increase signals the start of a new era, one in which law enforcement agencies find ever more creative ways to obtain user information from data-rich tech companies. And they fear agencies and jurisdictions will use this relatively unchecked mechanism in the context of new and controversial laws such as the criminalization of nearly all abortions in Texas.
“As long as the data exists, all it takes is a creative law enforcement officer to say, ‘Hey, we can get a warrant or we can send a subpoena for this particular subset of the data that’s already being harvested’,” said Caleb Kenyon, the defense attorney who represented Zachary McCoy, to the Guardian. “They’re coming up with everything they can to do their job. That’s all it takes for the next type of [reverse] search warrant to come about.”
Former Tech CEO: Bombshell Facebook Report Proves Policies, Procedures ‘Just a Ruse to Dupe the Public’
Former tech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy blasted Facebook for setting up an elaborate “ruse to dupe the public” on the heels of a bombshell report that the tech giant claims everyone is treated equally but actually allows celebrities and other elite users to break the platform’s rules.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed documents that prove Facebook has privately “built a system that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules” using a program that was “initially intended as a quality-control measure” for actions taken against high-profile users. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who has been an outspoken opponent of Big Tech censorship, feels the damning report shines a light on even larger issues.
L.A. County Plans to Require Proof of Vaccination at Indoor Bars, Nightclubs, Breweries, Wineries
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges in Los Angeles County under a forthcoming health order aimed at further armoring the region against the pandemic.
The mandate, which will be issued by Friday, will require patrons and employees to have at least one vaccine dose by Oct. 7 and be fully vaccinated by Nov. 4, according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
$5,000 Fine for ‘Vaccine Passports’ in Florida Takes Effect Today
Florida will start issuing $5,000 fines Thursday to businesses, schools and government agencies that require people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill earlier this year that banned vaccine passports, and fines start Thursday if people are asked to show proof of a vaccine.
But there’s still no word on exactly how customers would go about reporting businesses that do ask for a vaccine passport, and it’s also unclear how the investigations would work.
France Suspends 3,000 Unvaccinated Health Workers Without Pay
France has suspended 3,000 health workers without pay for refusing the COVID vaccine.
The health minister, Olivier Véran, said the staff had been notified in writing before the government-imposed deadline to have at least one dose.