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Federal Agencies Planning to Expand Use of Facial Recognition + More
Federal Agencies Planning to Expand Use of Facial Recognition
At least 10 federal agencies are planning to expand their use of facial recognition technology in the next few years, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released earlier this week.
The departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Interior, Justice, State, Treasury and Veterans Affairs all told the watchdog that they will grow their capabilities by 2023.
The GAO surveyed 24 agencies overall about their use of the controversial technology, finding that most of them use it for things like allowing employees to unlock agency smartphones or enter buildings.
Apple Allows Children to Access Casual-Sex and BDSM Apps, Finds Report
Apple knowingly lets underage users access apps intended for adults, according to an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), despite having asked for and recorded their dates of birth.
The investigation asserts a disconnect between the information Apple knows about a user, which includes their self-declared age, and the ways it polices age restrictions on its App Store.
TTP created a user account with a date of birth in February 2007, and tested to see how well Apple’s policies were applied. The group discovered that, even though the user had a self-declared age of just 14, they could download apps such as “Eros: Hook Up & Adult Chat” and “KinkD: Kink, BDSM Dating Life” from the store. Both apps are marked as “17+” by Apple’s age-rating system, but when an underage user tries to download them, they are simply presented with a pop-up notification asking them to “tap OK to confirm that you are 17 or over.”
Oregon to Require Masks at Outdoor Public Settings Starting Friday
Oregon will require adults and most children to wear face coverings starting Friday in most public settings where people are close to each other, in yet another attempt to slow spread of the contagious delta variant of COVID-19.
Children under 5 years old are exempt from the mandate, as are people of all ages while eating and drinking outdoors and people living outdoors while experiencing homelessness.
More Than Half of Florida’s Students Now Go to Schools Mandating Masks in Defiance of Desantis
More than half of Florida’s students are now enrolled in public school districts with mask mandates despite threats of sanctions from the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who decreed that only parents can decide whether their children wear masks.
On Tuesday night, two school districts — in Orange and Indian River counties — approved mandates to try to stop the spread of the delta variant of the novel coronavirus. They joined eight other districts that recently moved to require a medical exemption from a doctor to opt out.
The state is a hot spot for coronavirus cases, with a positivity rate for new cases at nearly 20% as hospitals keep filling with patients.
New Montana Law Sows Confusion, Defiance Over School Quarantines
As classes get underway this week and next, Montana school and county health officials are grappling with how a new state law that bans vaccine discrimination should apply to quarantine orders for students and staffers exposed to COVID-19.
It’s the latest fallout from the law that says businesses and governmental entities can’t treat people differently based on vaccination status. The law makes Montana the only state that prohibits both public and private employers — including hospitals — from requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID.
Some state and county officials also interpret the law to mean that unvaccinated people can’t be ordered to quarantine over a COVID exposure unless vaccinated people are, too. That interpretation goes against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for only unvaccinated people to quarantine in the event of a COVID exposure.
Delta Air Lines to Add $200 Monthly Health Insurance Charge for Unvaccinated Staff + More
Delta Air Lines to Add $200 Monthly Health Insurance Charge for Unvaccinated Staff
Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) on Wednesday said employees will have to pay $200 more every month for their company-sponsored healthcare plan if they choose to not vaccinate against COVID-19.
The move to add a surcharge to health insurance contributions is the latest tactic by corporate America to push employees to get the shots to fight the pandemic.
Washington Public School Requires Student Athletes to Wear Tracking Monitors to Trace COVID
A public high school in Washington state is requiring some student-athletes and coaches to wear tracking devices on their wrists to trace COVID-19 during practices.
“It’s just one more thing they’re doing to the kids through this whole covid thing,” father of two students at Eatonville High School, Jason Ostendorf, told The News Tribune. “The vaccine, now be tracked when you’re at practice. Where does this end? I feel like this is an experiment on our kids to see how much we can put them through before they start breaking.”
The high school said that both vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes who play on teams with high contact and moderate indoor contact, such as volleyball, basketball and wrestling, are required to wear the devices. The tracking devices, which were paid for by federal funds, are worn during practice to trace the proximity of one player to others in the event of a positive coronavirus case.
Rutgers Football Player Wants to Transfer to Escape Vaccine Mandate
A defensive back for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will begin the transferral process from the New Jersey school due to its vaccine requirements for students.
Peyton Powell is a former four-star recruit from Texas who initially gave a verbal commitment to Utah and spent a few months with Baylor University. He announced on Twitter he would be leaving Rutgers University and will enter the transfer portal.
Pfizer’s FDA Approval Could Open Floodgates or Corporate Vaccine Mandates
The Food and Drug Administration’s clearance of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which had been rolled out to the public for emergency-use only, paves the way for more employers to require that their workers get jabbed.
Although a number of businesses, colleges and other organizations were already requiring workers to be inoculated, many corporations have been hesitant to implement a mandate for a drug not yet fully approved by regulators. Labor attorneys expect Monday’s announcement by the FDA to open the floodgates for mandates across the board.
Parents Get Coached on How to Escape Mask and Vaccine Rules
The Associated Press reported:
An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. A pastor at a California megachurch is offering religious exemptions for anyone morally conflicted over vaccine requirements.
And Louisiana’s attorney general has posted sample letters on his office’s Facebook page for those seeking to get around the governor’s mask rules.
Across the U.S., religious figures, doctors, public officials and other community leaders are trying to help people circumvent COVID-19 precautions.
Zuckerberg Deflects Questions About Vaccine Disinformation on Facebook
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg skirted a question on Thursday about coronavirus vaccine disinformation on the social network, choosing to phrase the problem instead as primarily one of “vaccine hesitancy” among the U.S. public.
In an interview with CBS, which was released on Thursday morning, TV anchor Gayle King pressed Zuckerberg to release information on how many people have viewed and shared Facebook posts containing misinformation about the COVID vaccine.
Zuckerberg said that Facebook has removed more than 18m posts containing misinformation from their website, but failed to answer when pressed by King on how many people viewed or shared these posts.
If COVID Vaccine Refusers Are Turned Away at the Hospitals and Doctor Offices, Is That Ethical?
Dr. Jason Valentine, a family medicine physician at the Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health in Mobile, Alabama, informed his patients this month that, effective Oct. 1, he would no longer treat those who hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19. Around the same time, a leaked memo indicated that the North Texas Mass Critical Care Guideline Task Force was considering whether to take Covid vaccination status into account in deciding who gets ICU beds when more of them are needed than are available.
Can either of these actions be considered ethical? In short, it depends.
Montana Governor Encourages Vaccination, Won’t Mandate It
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported:
Gov. Greg Gianforte encouraged Montanans to get vaccinated during a press conference on Tuesday, but insisted that there would be no mandates — for masks or vaccination — in the state.
Recognizing the increased spread of the delta variant in Montana, Gianforte spoke of the importance for Montana residents to get vaccinated, encouraging people on the fence to consult with their doctor. With the Pfizer vaccine getting fully-approved by the Food and Drug Administration Monday, Gianforte said that the time to get vaccinated is now.
Spain’s Supreme Court Rules Against Using Vaccine Passports to Restrict Access to Public Spaces
Spain’s Supreme Court made waves last week by becoming the first judicial authority in Europe to rule against the use of COVID passports to restrict access to public spaces — specifically hospitality businesses (bars, restaurants and nightclubs). It is not the first Spanish court to come out against vaccine passports but it is the most important. So far, only five of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions – the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, Andalusia, Cantabria and Galicia – have proposed using vaccine passports to restrict access to public spaces. And all have been rejected by local judges.
The EU’s Green Pass is a one-piece QR-code document that can be issued to a traveller in both paper and digital format. It is intended to prove that the holder has either received one of the four vaccines authorised by the European Medicine Agency (BioNTech-Pfizer’s, Moderna’s, AztraZeneca’s and Johnson &Johnson’s), has tested negative for Covid-19 in the last 48 hours or has been infected with Covid in the last six months and therefore has natural immunity. However, some countries such as France have chosen only to allow entry to travellers that are fully vaccinated.
Man Gets QR Code Vaccine Passport Tattooed on His Arm
An Italian student has set a new standard when it comes to providing proof of vaccination.
Since Aug. 6, it has been a requirement in Italy for anyone wishing to dine indoors or attend a cultural event to present a “Green Pass” certificate upon entry showing they have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from COVID-19.
Green pass certificates can be presented in either paper or digital form.
Fauci Says Pfizer FDA Approval Will Bring a ‘Lot More’ COVID Vaccine Mandates + More
Dr. Fauci Says Pfizer FDA Approval Will Bring ‘A Lot More’ COVID Vaccine Mandates
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said on Tuesday that he expects “a lot more” COVID-19 vaccine mandates after the Pfizer vaccine received full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While appearing on MSNBC‘s Morning Joe, Fauci said, “you’re gonna see a lot more [vaccine] mandates because there will be institutions and organizations which previously were reluctant to require vaccinations, which will now feel much more empowered to do that.”
“That could be organizations, businesses, colleges, universities. We’re even seeing it with the military already,” Fauci continued.
Biden Urges Businesses Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine Following Full Approval of the Pfizer-Biontech Shot
President Biden leaned into the new FDA licensure, or full approval, of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, encouraging businesses to require vaccinations among employees
“Today I’m calling on more companies … in the private sector to step up the vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people,” Biden said. “If you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader, who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that … do what I did last month, requiring employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements.”
Biden touted full FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, calling it a “key milestone in our nation’s fight against COVID,” and urged unvaccinated individuals to receive their shots amid rapid spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant driving infections nationwide.
Somebody’s Watching You: Has Employee Surveillance Gone Too Far?
Companies have always monitored their employees in some fashion or another, but since the beginning of the pandemic, sales of surveillance software have tripled.
With many Americans working from home now, important questions about privacy have emerged: Can employees be watched in their own homes over email or Zoom? Is the record of their keystrokes fair game? What about their webcam?
The short answer is that companies have a lot of leeway to spy on their own workers even when they’re not in the office; you’re probably operating with a lot less privacy than you think. In fact, you might be shocked to learn what’s legal.
University of Virginia Disenrolls Unvaccinated Students Ahead of Fall Semester
Forty-nine students who registered for fall classes at the University of Virginia have been disenrolled after failing to meet the school’s vaccine mandate, officials said last week.
The campus unveiled its vaccine mandate in May and the overwhelming majority of the campus is in compliance, officials said. More than 96 percent of U-Va. students are vaccinated against the coronavirus and 335 students with religious and medical exemptions have been granted permanent waivers, officials said.
An additional 184 temporary waivers were granted to students who have had trouble getting vaccinated but plan to get their shots upon arriving to campus.
Disney World Reaches Deal With Unions To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations for Unionized Employees
Disney has reached a deal with its unions to require all of its unionized employees working at Walt Disney World in Florida to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 22, 2021.
The move comes nearly a month after Disney mandated that all of its salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. needed to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of September.
No deal has been struck with unions on the west coast that cater to Disneyland Resort employees.
Hospital Finds an Unlikely Group Opposing Vaccination: Its Workers + More
Hospital Finds an Unlikely Group Opposing Vaccination: Its Workers
Their movement started discreetly, just a handful of people communicating on encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. But in just days it had ballooned tenfold. And within two weeks, it had turned into a full-blown public protest, with people waving picket signs to denounce efforts to push them to receive coronavirus vaccines.
But these were not just any vaccine resisters. They were nurses, medical technicians, infection control officers and other staff who work at a hospital in Staten Island, which has the highest rate of COVID-19 infection of any borough in New York City.
NYC Mandates Vaccinations for Public School Teachers, Staff
The Associated Press reported:
All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday, ramping up pandemic protections as the nation’s largest school system prepares for classes to start next month.
The city previously said teachers, like other city employees, would have to get the shots or get tested weekly for the virus. The new policy marks the first no-option vaccination mandate for a broad group of city workers in the nation’s most populous city, though Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that coaches and students in football, basketball and other “high-risk” sports would have to get inoculated before play begins.
Now, about 148,000 school employees — and contractors who work in schools — will have to get at least a first dose by Sept. 27, according to an announcement from the Democratic mayor and the city health and education departments.
Pentagon to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine for Military
The U.S. military will move to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for all service members now that the Pfizer vaccine has full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Pentagon’s top spokesperson announced Monday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is “prepared to issue updated guidance requiring all service members to be vaccinated,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.
It’s Time to Break Up Big Tech’s Media Monopoly
It is no secret that Big Tech’s news and information monopoly has created a big problem for news publishers and content creators across the U.S.
Google News, Facebook News, and analogous news aggregator sites drive a great deal of traffic to their respective sites by presenting a continuous flow of links to articles from thousands of publishers.
These aggregator websites are, in turn, able to monetize their own advertising and related products — and are able to do so without fairly compensating publishers for their material. As a result, the publishing industry has been on life support for over a decade.
Big Tech Companies Have Profiles on You – Here’s How to See Them
It should be no surprise to anybody that social media and tech companies gather a lot of information about you. In most cases, you supply the data willingly (or sometimes begrudgingly) so that you can access their services. Tap or click here for 10 Facebook privacy and security settings you need to change right now.
But many people don’t know that almost every Big Tech company has at least some information on you. If you think about it, where do you suppose targeted advertising comes from? How do they know which ads to serve you?
Apple, Google, and companies like Facebook all have a profile on you. But what exactly do they know? Well, there is a way for you to find out.
Healthcare Systems Wary of Instituting COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Over Fears of Losing Staff
Healthcare providers hesitate to require workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, fearing a mandate could cause the resignations of staff they cannot afford to lose.
“[Hospitals] are doing a balancing act between caring for patients and not contributing to the pandemic by spreading COVID-19 through unvaccinated clinicians,” said Audrey Capozzoli, president of Renal Reserve, a national dialysis staffing agency. “Hospitals that mandate vaccinations and may terminate employees who refuse to get them could find themselves short-staffed. This leads to staff burnout and further reduction of qualified clinicians.”
Why National Teachers Unions Support Vaccine Mandates But Won’t Require Them
This fall, as many schools across the country are planning to reopen for full in-person learning, parents and educators are bracing for the third straight school year to be disrupted by COVID-19.
And yet, according to one survey by the Center for Reinventing Public Education, of the 100 biggest urban school districts in the nation, only 13 have some requirement that teachers be vaccinated. Just seven of those — Chicago, Denver, D.C, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and as of Monday, New York City — have made the vaccine requirement universal for all school staff.
Which means that the vast majority of biggest school districts in the country are allowing at least some unvaccinated teachers into the classroom, even if they have other safety requirements, like testing or masking.
COVID Vaccine Protesters Rally in Santa MonicaBig Tech Has Outgrown This Planet
Los Angeles Daily News reported:
A coalition of groups including medical professionals, first responders, parents and students will gather in Santa Monica Saturday to protest Los Angeles’ impending COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying it will segregate the city, breed more hate and violate the rights of tens of thousands of people.
The “S.O.S California No Vaccine Passport Rally” is being organized by the California chapter of Children’s Health Defense, California Parents United, Latinos for Medical Freedom, Central Coast Health Coalition, Advocates for Physicians Rights, America’s Frontline Doctors, Vaccine Injury Awareness League, Freedom of Religion — United Solutions, Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids, Freedom Angels, UtahRevival.com, Mama Bears Radio and Million Mamas Movement.
Big Tech Has Outgrown This Planet
The already bonkers dollars of Big Tech have become even bonkers-er.
My colleagues and I have written a lot about the unreal sales, profits and oomph of America’s five technology titans — Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook. This might feel like old news. Tech’s Titanic 5 have been big and rich for a long time, and they’ve gotten even more so as people and organizations have needed their products during the coronavirus pandemic. Yadda, yadda, yadda. We get it.
But no, we really don’t get it. American’s technology superstars have launched into a completely different stratosphere than even other wildly successful companies in tech and beyond.
London Protest: Anti-Vaccine Passport Protesters Storm ITV, Channel 4 News Office
Protesters on Monday have stormed London HQ office of ITN, which produces ITV News and Channel 4 News.
Footage circulated on social media showed cops lining up to barricade the entrance to the building on Gray’s Inn Road.
However, a large number of demonstrators, who appear to be part of a protest against coronavirus vaccine passports, appear to have already entered the ITN building.