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Big Brother News Watch
Amazon Facing Calls to Ban Police Use of Facial Recognition + More
Amazon Facing Calls From Civil Rights Groups to Permanently Ban Police Use of Facial Recognition as Deadline Approaches
Civil rights groups are calling on Amazon to permanently ban use of its facial recognition software, as an approaching deadline looms on the future of the technology.
In an open letter addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and incoming CEO Andy Jassy, 44 civil rights groups pointed to ongoing instances of police violence against the Black community as evidence that Amazon should stop selling facial recognition technology to law enforcement.
“As a company, Amazon has a choice to make: Will you continue to profit from selling surveillance technology to law enforcement? Or will you stand for Black lives and divest from giving law enforcement these harmful tools?” said the letter, which was published Monday.
If You Don’t Want Robotic Dogs Patrolling the Streets, Consider CCOPS Legislation
Boston Dynamics’ robot “dogs,” or similar versions thereof, are already being employed by police departments in Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York. Partly through the veil of experimentation, few answers are being given by these police forces about the benefits and costs of using these powerful surveillance devices.
The American Civil Liberties Union, in a position paper on CCOPS (community control over police surveillance), proposes an act to promote transparency and protect civil rights and liberties with respect to surveillance technology. To date, 19 U.S. cities have passed CCOPS laws, which means, in practical terms, that virtually all other communities don’t have a requirement that police are transparent about their use of surveillance technologies.
News Publishers Should Have the Ability to Fight for Fair Compensation From Big Tech. Congress Can Help.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
Quality local journalism is essential for democracy, but for years the work of this news organization and others around the country have been victimized by the dominant practices of a few Big Tech companies.
Tech giants like Google and Facebook benefit from local news produced by newsrooms like ours, but they don’t return that value to us. That is a serious threat to the economic viability of local news organizations.
To give local publishers a fair shake, members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation, along with their colleagues, should support the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.”
Big Tech’s Reputation Takes a Pandemic Plunge
Americans have fallen further out of love with Big Tech, the latest Axios/Harris 100 brand reputation poll shows.
Why it matters: Even though Americans were hyper-connected to their devices throughout the pandemic, their relationship with many of the world’s biggest tech firms has continued on a downward trend, suggesting that people see their products as necessary evils.
Social media leaders Facebook and Twitter failed to improve their standing near the bottom of the list, despite their role in helping users stay connected through pandemic-era isolation.
Gregg Jarrett: It’s Time to Crush Big Tech Censorship Before Facebook, Twitter and Others Crush Us
Never before has so much power been held by so few. And never before has that power been so egregiously abused.
The censorship applied to American news consumers by Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google, and Apple must be broken up. They have evolved into massive monopolies that pose a grave danger to democracy by suppressing speech with which they disagree.
The staggering wealth and unbridled power of these tech giants allow them to punish political adversaries and protect partisan allies. They do so with impunity and no regard for the public interest. Examples abound.
Court Asked to Prohibit Facebook From Censoring Vaccine Critics + More
Court Asked to Prohibit Facebook From Censoring Vaccine Critics
The Rogersville Review reported:
The Rutherford Institute has asked a federal court to prohibit Facebook from censoring and de-platforming critics of the COVID-19 vaccine in violation of the First Amendment.
In an amicus brief filed in Children’s Health Defense v. Facebook, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that Facebook acted in concert with U.S. government officials and agencies to suppress and punish Children’s Health Defense for sharing information critical of the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We should all be alarmed when prominent social media voices are censored, silenced and made to disappear from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram for voicing ideas that are deemed politically incorrect, hateful, dangerous, extremist or conspiratorial,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of “Battlefield America: The War on the American People.”
People Deserve to Know About the Health Effects of 5G and EMFs
There are zero studies that prove that 5G is safe for our health. During a federal Senate hearing, the representatives of the telecom industry also communicated that there were no future plans to conduct any independent 5G safety studies.
Currently there is a federal case against the Federal Communications Commission charging that the safety standards that were tested for 1G are still being applied 24 years later to 5G without being updated.
The facts are, more than 10,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies demonstrate harm to human health from radio frequency (RF) radiation. Some effects include: insomnia, headaches and head pressure; ringing of the ears; nausea, stomach pains, digestive problems and fatigue; learning and memory deficits, brain fog, and dizziness; depression, anxiety, and mood changes; skin rashes, aches and pains; obesity and diabetes; heart palpitations and cardiovascular disease; and cancers.
Vaccine Passport Rebellion: ‘You’re Not Going to Brand Us!’
On the same day that Orange County recorded some of its most positive coronavirus statistics to date — nearing the least restrictive yellow tier in the state’s reopening blueprint — hundreds of protesters gathered to blast the Board of Supervisors for a proposal to create “vaccine passports,” or digital records that document COVID-19 vaccination status.
The public backlash began in April after the county announced plans to launch a pilot program for credentialing. Almost immediately, a vocal group of opponents expressed concern that the digital records would be used to “track” people and reveal private healthcare information. Opponents also said it would allow the county to favor residents who chose to get vaccinated.
French Lawmakers Approve COVID ‘Health Pass’ at Second Attempt
France’s National Assembly approved on Wednesday the creation of a COVID-19 “health pass” that people can use to attend sports events, festivals and theme parks with large crowds, a hotly contested government measure to help safely re-open the economy.
The health pass, which will come into effect from June 9, will provide proof that a person has either been vaccinated against the coronavirus, holds a recent negative PCR test, or is recovering from COVID-19 and therefore has natural antibodies.
The proposal was initially shot down in the lower house on Tuesday evening over fears it would impinge on civil freedoms, a rare defeat for President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party, after centrist MoDem allies rebelled.
European Union Seeks to Reopen Travel With Vaccination Pass
As COVID-19 infection rates begin to drop in the region, European Union ministers met in Brussels Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement on a “green certificate” travel pass designed to make it easier for fully vaccinated tourists to travel in the continent in time for the summer vacation season.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, first suggested the plan earlier this year, patterned after the so-called “Green Pass” issued in Israel that allows vaccinated people access to certain venues or events.
In Europe, the commission suggested the certificates would allow EU residents who can prove they have been vaccinated, as well as those who tested negative for the virus or have proof they recovered from it, to move freely around the continent.
Lockdowns Didn’t Stop COVID + More
Lockdowns Didn’t Stop COVID
The Wall Street Journal reported:
COVID-19 lockdowns shaved 3.5% off U.S. GDP in 2020 even as the federal government spent more than $2.6 trillion in relief measures. Millions of children fell behind in learning and nearly 100,000 businesses closed for good.
Conventional wisdom holds this was worth it because lives were saved by shutting workplaces and schools and telling people to stay home. But a new study by University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan shows the opposite. After the first month of the pandemic, organizations that adopted prevention protocols became safer places than the wider community.
Officials who didn’t see that coming forgot that organizations are rational and look for cooperative solutions that improve the welfare of the group, such as reducing the risks of communicable disease.
NY Stadium Plan Would Separate Vaccinated, Unvaccinated People at Baseball Games
The new rules allow vaccinated fans, and their children under age 16, to sit in special seating sections at professional baseball games, including the Rochester Red Wings, Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Syracuse Mets and Toronto Blue Jays games scheduled at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. The fans would still be required to wear face coverings.
Unvaccinated fans attending the games will be seated in sections with a 33% occupancy limit and a six-foot social distance rule, as well as mandatory face coverings.
Restaurants Need Workers. Would an Employee Vaccine Mandate Bring Them Back?
Before implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees at his 15 Chicago restaurants, Fifty/50 Restaurant Group co-founder Scott Weiner did his due diligence. He consulted a lawyer, discussed the idea with his staff, and developed a policy around the requirement …
Getting shots in the arms of industry staffers will undoubtedly make restaurants safer places to work. Returning the industry to something resembling its pre-pandemic scale, though, is dependent on a range of factors, many of which don’t necessarily hinge on overall vaccine rates. For example: how well owners meet worker demands for better pay and treatment; the efficacy of the vaccines against variants; and when and how state and local governments decide to ease or lift pandemic capacity restrictions.
ImmunaBand Bracelet Is A Wearable Vaccine Passport
An enterprising company is selling a way for people to easily share their COVID-19 vaccination status: a $20 bracelet with a QR code that can be scanned to show their shot cards.
“Wear this bracelet to work, to restaurants, and to let people know your commitment to overcoming this disease through your completion of the vaccination series,” the company says on its website. “The bracelet is also a symbol of your commitment to safety — for yourself and for others.”
The company’s president, J. Tashof Bernton, says a customer was allowed into a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York by showing his bracelet and having an employee scan the code, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
Indianapolis Keeps Mask Mandate, Business Health Restrictions Despite New Legislation
Indianapolis city officials moved quickly to keep the current Marion County public health orders in place Monday night, just hours after legislators voted to void all local coronavirus restrictions.
The new legislation, Senate Bill 5, requires local health departments to get approval from the local legislative bodies and mayors if a city seeks to enact health orders that are more strict than statewide restrictions.
The health board or health officer also cannot file a court action to enforce a health order unless it receives approval from the legislative body, such as the City-County Council.
Facebook: Social Media Companies ‘Not Bound by First Amendment’ + More
Top Facebook Official Says Social Media Companies Are ‘Not Bound by the First Amendment’
A top Facebook official dismissed criticism that the social media giant violated former President Donald Trump‘s First Amendment rights by keeping him off the platform.
Michael McConnell, co-chairman of Facebook’s Oversight Board, discussed the company’s recent decision to uphold its ban on Trump for six months while the company clarifies its policy. The former president was kicked off the platform after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Private companies are not bound by the First Amendment,” McConnell said Sunday on Fox News. “And so, he has no First Amendment rights. He’s a customer. Facebook is not a government, and he is not a citizen of Facebook.”
It May Be Time to Relax Indoor Face Mask Mandates, Fauci Says
Sunday on ABC News, Fauci was asked whether it’s time to start relaxing indoor masks requirements. Fauci replied, “I think so, and I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be updating its guidance almost in real time, as more Americans get vaccinated, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The CDC relaxed its guidance last month on wearing masks outdoors, but still advises both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to still wear masks in indoor public spaces, such as a mall, movie theater or museum.
Want to Party? You Might Need a ‘Vaccine Passport.’
You could hear the music from the sidewalk, high-spirited renditions of “Ice Ice Baby” and “MMMBop.”
It was ’90s night at Rumi, a ballroom and event space in the Chelsea section of Manhattan in New York City, and millennials and Gen Zers lined up to get inside. They dressed the part in tracksuits, neon crop tops, denim overalls and scrunchies.
To enter, they had to pass two checkpoints. First, a bouncer verified IDs and took temperatures. Then, Joseph Ko, one of the ballroom’s owners, confirmed that each person had been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The process took about five minutes.
Tech, Healthcare Titans Who Donated to Gov. Newsom Were Rewarded With Lucrative, No-Bid Contracts
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has embraced Silicon Valley tech companies and healthcare industry titans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic like no other governor in America — routinely outsourcing life-or-death public health duties to his allies in the private sector.
At least 30 tech and health care companies have received lucrative, no-bid government contracts, or helped fund and carry out critical public health activities during the state’s battle against the coronavirus, a Kaiser Health News (KHN) analysis has found. The vast majority are Newsom supporters and donors who have contributed more than $113 million to his political campaigns and charitable causes, or to fund his policy initiatives, since his first run for statewide office in 2010.