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CDC Tracked Millions of Phones to See If Americans Followed COVID Lockdown Orders
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bought access to location data harvested from tens of millions of phones in the United States to perform an analysis of compliance with curfews, track patterns of people visiting K-12 schools and specifically monitor the effectiveness of policy in the Navajo Nation, according to CDC documents obtained by Motherboard.
The documents also show that although the CDC used COVID-19 as a reason to buy access to the data more quickly, it intended to use it for more general CDC purposes.
Location data is information on a device’s location sourced from the phone, which can then show where a person lives, works and where they went. The sort of data the CDC bought was aggregated — meaning it was designed to follow trends that emerge from the movements of groups of people — but researchers have repeatedly raised concerns about how location data can be deanonymized and used to track specific people.
The documents reveal the expansive plan the CDC had last year to use location data from a highly controversial data broker. SafeGraph, the company the CDC paid $420,000 for access to one year of data, includes Peter Thiel and the former head of Saudi intelligence among its investors. Google banned the company from the Play Store in June.
New ‘Big Tech Scorecard’ Shows Most Firms Threaten Free Speech
The raging debate over policing what people say in the U.S. has ramped up in recent days, with Elon Musk promising to return free speech to Twitter upon completion of his pending takeover and the Biden administration vowing to crack down on whatever the government deems to be “disinformation.”
Musk says he is “against censorship that goes far beyond the law,” but that is not the norm for Big Tech giants, according to a new study, which comes at a time when organizations and individuals are concerned about losing critical online tools over saying the “wrong” thing in the view of a service provider.
The Napa Legal Institute, an organization that educates and protects faith-based nonprofits, conducted a review of more than 50 user agreements from major platforms offering core services such as social media, email hosting and payment processing, and found that well over half of Big Tech platforms require customers to sign agreements that pose risks to religious freedom and free speech.
Napa Legal’s study slapped warning labels on dozens of major tech firms’ user agreements for services, including those of Microsoft Exchange Online, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon Pay and Facebook.
Bill Would Force Military to Reinstate Those Who Refused COVID Vaccine
A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged after refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine wants to go back to serving in the military.
A bill introduced last week by Rep. Chris Smith would clear the path for his return, by requiring top-ranking military officials to reinstate members who were forced out over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates.
The bill, H.R. 7570, would require the Secretary of Defense to reinstate any member of the armed forces to the rank and grade they held if their forcible discharge was solely because they refused the COVID-19 vaccine.
Trucker Convoy Members Sue DC Alleging First Amendment Rights Violated
Truckers who sought to travel to Washington, DC, to protest COVID-19 mask mandates and vaccine requirements are suing the city, claiming police violated their First Amendment rights by blocking their entry into the city.
A trucker group called the People’s Convoy set out in March to drive to the nation’s capital, clogging DC streets to protest government COVID-19 mandates they believe were unconstitutional. However, district police set up blockades to divert the convoy from downtown DC. Sixteen people who took part in the trucker protest are suing the city for stopping them from gathering downtown.
The People’s Convoy was inspired by a Canadian trucker movement, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, also protesting COVID-19 mandates. The Freedom Convoy began in January 2022 and blocked the country’s most vital trade route to the U.S.
‘I’m on the Warpath!’: Elon Musk Reveals Big Plans for Twitter
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk spoke about his plans for Twitter, making his first public statement — aside from tweets — since reaching a deal to purchase the popular social media platform.
Musk, who was joined by his mother on the red carpet at Monday night’s Met Gala, promised a more “inclusive” experience for everyone and vowed as he has in the past to rid the platform of bots.
“Well, I mean, the goal that I have, should everything come to fruition with Twitter, is to have a service that is broadly — is as broadly inclusive as possible where ideally most of America is on it and talking!” Musk told the Associated Press.
When an Entertainment Tonight correspondent asked about critics who were concerned that Musk could have done something better with his money than ink a deal to buy Twitter, he responded by explaining that his companies were always looking for ways to better humanity and prepare for the future.
Unvaccinated Teachers and Healthcare Workers Given Green Light to Return to Work Next Week as ACT Ditches Mandate
The ACT Government is ditching its COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers and teachers from late next week.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith acknowledged the ACT leads the country with its COVID-19 vaccination rates as she announced the rule change on Tuesday.
More than 75% of Canberrans aged 16 and over have already received their booster, while almost 81% of ACT kids aged five to 11 have come forward for one vaccine dose.
Vaccination requirements remain in place for workers in aged care and disability.
Amid Shanghai’s COVID Surge, a Nursing Home Resident Was Sent to the Morgue While Still Alive
Shanghai nursing home resident was mistakenly taken to the morgue while still alive, state media reported, as the city’s COVID-19 outbreak and prolonged lockdown stretch aged-care and medical facilities to breaking point.
The municipal government confirmed the incident and said it has launched an investigation, local media reported. While the nursing home apologized, the error has triggered widespread anger and condemnation among Chinese people, according to discussions on social media.
The mistake comes as Shanghai’s lockdown enters its fifth week and new COVID cases remain in the thousands each day. The tough restrictions and compulsory isolation of all virus cases and close contacts have created havoc in the city of 25 million, with people unable to access essential medical care.
Most of the more than 400 deaths in the latest wave have been elderly people with underlying health conditions, with reports that some nursing homes weren’t reporting deaths.
Exclusive: ProtonMail Creator Says Attempts to Rein in Big Tech ‘Only Tackle 5% of the Problem’
The founder of Proton, the company behind ProtonMail and ProtonVPN, has critiqued the latest attempts by the EU to rein in the power of Big Tech.
In an exclusive interview with TechRadar Pro, Andy Yen described the proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) as “a huge benefit to society, but also a missed opportunity.”
The DMA is a piece of legislation expected soon to be enshrined in EU law that seeks to limit the power of so-called “technology gatekeepers” — such as Apple, Meta and Google — which stand accused of using their market position and wealth of resources to squeeze out smaller competitors.
In reality, no matter the breadth of alternatives available, the vast majority of users will never switch away from the default. In effect, this means companies who compete in the same categories as the largest technology companies are unlikely to make genuine in-roads, no matter the quality of their services.
‘Extra Level of Power’: Billionaires Who Have Bought up the Media
Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter is a “chilling development” in billionaires’ desire to increase their political influence by buying up many of the world’s largest and most influential media brands, a leading British analyst has warned.
Claire Enders, founder of Enders Analysis, said the super-rich have long sought to buy newspapers to help push their agendas and it was now possible to “count on one hand the big media brands that aren’t owned by an oligarch or other billionaire”.
“It’s another sign that the super-wealthy wish to control assets that give them an extra level of power,” she said. “Whatever they may say, that’s the reason why they buy them. The billionaires who now control vast swathes of the media landscape include:
Brands Should Force Twitter to Uphold Content Policies Under Musk, Advocacy Groups Say
Some of the nation’s biggest brands including Coca-Cola (CCEP), Disney (DIS) and Kraft (KHC) are facing calls to boycott Twitter if the company’s soon-to-be owner, billionaire Elon Musk, rolls back content moderation policies limiting hate speech and election misinformation.
In a letter sent to brands Tuesday ahead of the 2022 NewFronts digital advertising conference, more than two dozen civil society groups said marketers should secure commitments from Twitter to retain its most critical policies, including on civic integrity and hateful conduct, and threaten to withdraw funding if Twitter does not comply.
“As top advertisers on Twitter (TWTR), your brand risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation and conspiracy theorists,” the letter said, adding: “Your ad dollars can either fund Musk’s vanity project or hold him to account.”
Why TikTok Is Built to Last
Remember former President Donald Trump‘s efforts to ban TikTok in 2020? According to his executive order, apps such as TikTok “developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) [continue] to threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.” With advanced user-safety features, cultural initiatives and monetization opportunities, TikTok still stands — and its influence is stronger than ever.
While platforms like Vine and Musical.ly have faltered, TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has proven itself a social media titan. The app has over 1 billion users, while Vine had 200 million users at its peak. Instagram and Snapchat have recently lost steam, while TikTok continues to develop new features for creators and viewers.
TikTok has also broken into mainstream culture, with actresses, publications and even politicians running accounts. Here’s why the app will continue to prosper.
