Big Brother News Watch
Maine Healthcare Workers Sue State Over Vaccine Mandate + More
Maine Healthcare Workers Sue State, Seeking to Reverse Vaccine Mandate
The Portland Press Herald reported:
Health care workers in Maine filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, the governor and major Maine health networks Wednesday, arguing that the state’s requirement that healthcare workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 tramples on their religious freedoms.
The lawsuit also asks a federal judge in Bangor to impose a temporary order preventing the mandate from going into effect. Since Gov. Janet Mills announced the requirement under a state statute earlier this month, some health care workers have voiced vehement opposition, packing public meetings and mounting public demonstrations against the requirement.
Illinois Requires Educators, Health Workers to Get Vaccine
The Associated Press reported:
Illinois health care workers and educators from kindergarten through college will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday in announcing new safety protocols that also include a fresh statewide mandate for masks to be worn indoors.
The mandates, which overlap in several places with existing rules, are a response to a spike in COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, particularly in southern and central Illinois.
League Wants COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate, as Players’ Vaccination Rate Hits 93%
The National Football League said on Thursday it has made clear it wanted to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for players, as it reported a nearly 93% inoculation rate, despite assertions from the players’ union the league had not proposed such a step.
NFLPA President JC Tretter, who plays for the Cleveland Browns, told ESPN this week that the NFL did not enforce or even discuss making vaccines a requirement to play this season, despite mandating inoculations for staff and coaches.
“I honestly don’t understand where that came from,” NFL General Counsel Lawrence Ferazani told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve been discussing with the players’ association mandatory vaccination from the start.”
Unvaccinated Teachers Threaten to Sue if They Are Forced on Unpaid Leave
Unvaccinated teachers are threatening legal action if they are prevented from teaching and forced to take unpaid leave when the school year starts next month.
Under the government’s plan to reopen schools nationwide on September 1, teachers must present a “Green Pass” in order to enter schools; such a pass is granted to those who are vaccinated, recovered or present a negative COVID test from the past 72 hours.
But Ran Erez, chairman of the Teachers Association, threatened to appeal to the High Court if the system is enforced just among teachers.
Big Tech Wants You to Live in a Virtual World. Prepare for Real Problems.
Have you heard of “Metaverse” recently? It was hard not to do so.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned the latest buzzwords in technology 16 times in his latest earnings announcement last month. According to him, the future of Facebook is the metaverse, a virtual environment that physically exists and allows you to hang out, play games, work, and create.
But he didn’t coin the term. Last year, Intel Corp. Technology companies from Unity Software talked about the Metaverse. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also talked about the “enterprise metaverse” in his company’s earnings announcement the day before Facebook’s phone call last month.
Big Tech Pledges Billions to Bolster U.S. Cybersecurity Defenses
Tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft have pledged billions to bolster U.S. cybersecurity following a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
The meeting, which also included attendees from the financial and education sectors, was held following months of high-profile cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and several U.S. government agencies, along with a glaring cybersecurity skills gap; according to data from CyberSeek, there are currently almost 500,000 cybersecurity jobs across the U.S that remain unfilled.
Linda Mcmahon Takes Dig at Big Tech Over Censorship: People Come to Our Country for Freedom of Speech
Former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon took swipes at Big Tech during an appearance on “Mornings with Maria,” Thursday, arguing the tech giants are stripping freedoms away that people migrate to the U.S. for.
Beijing Drafts Rules to Rein In the Algorithms Used by Big Tech to Push Videos and Popular Apps in Widespread Crackdown
China’s internet watchdog has drafted new rules to rein in the algorithms that technology companies like ByteDance and Tencent Holdings use to recommend videos and popular apps, in a widespread crackdown that set off the unintended consequence of snaring several celebrities, causing the Chinese star Zhao Wei’s presence to be scrubbed from the internet.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which released the 30-point draft proposal on Friday, is soliciting public feedback until September 26. The new rules will “regulate algorithm-empowered recommendation activities on the internet” — including content aggregation, personalized recommendation and search rankings — amid Beijing’s efforts to redirect people’s attention to online content that the state deems fit for broad public consumption.
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.
