Miss a day, miss a lot. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day. It's free.
Justin Trudeau Accused of Rewriting History by Claiming He Never Forced Anyone to Get Vaccinated
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau generated controversy for recently claiming that he never forced anyone in his country to get immunizations throughout the course of the pandemic.
In a clip shared on Twitter, Trudeau declared Monday that he merely incentivized people to get the vaccine, “while not forcing them to do so.”
The clip generated a huge backlash online, with users claiming that the leader’s comments stand in contrast with his orders requiring vaccines for various groups of Canadians, including a mandate for all federal workers and federally regulated Canadian transportation sectors.
The Canadian government’s mandates for cross-border truck drivers were so despised among some truckers that they orchestrated the “Freedom Convoy,” a protest of historic proportions in the nation’s capital that spread throughout the country.
Disney Sues Florida’s DeSantis Over Efforts to ‘Weaponize’ Government for Free Speech
Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) sued Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, asking a court to overturn state efforts to control Disney World and intensifying a battle between a global entertainment giant and a likely White House contender.
In its lawsuit, Disney accused DeSantis and his supporters of illegally using the state government to punish a company for voicing an opinion that should be protected by free-speech rights.
In the action filed in federal court in Tallahassee, Disney said it had no choice but to take legal action. The lawsuit said it aimed to protect Disney World’s employees, guests and developers “from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
A Closer Look at the U.S. Pandemic Response Reached an Unsettling Conclusion
Looking back at the U.S. response to the pandemic, many setbacks and mistakes are well-known. But a closer examination by a team of seasoned experts has brought to the surface a profoundly unsettling conclusion. The United States, once the paragon of can-do pragmatism, of successful moon shots and biomedical breakthroughs, fell down on the job in confronting the crisis. The pandemic, the experts say, revealed “a collective national incompetence in government.”
This warning comes through over and over again in “Lessons from the COVID War: An Investigative Report,” a book published Tuesday by a group of 34 specialists led by Philip Zelikow, the executive director of the 9/11 Commission and a history professor at the University of Virginia. Their verdict: “The leaders of the United States could not apply their country’s vast assets effectively enough in practice.”
Mr. Zelikow mobilized the experts to help get ready for a possible national commission on the pandemic. When Congress and the White House failed to launch a national inquiry, the experts wrote their own report. It is a compelling, disturbing account. They conclude the pandemic was not an inescapable tragedy. The United States could and should have done better. “The lockdowns could not be sustained,” the report says. “But leaders did not develop and communicate practical alternative strategies.”
“The administration abdicated its wartime responsibility to lead,” they add. “It left the battlefield, and the war strategy” to the states and localities. By April, the White House chief of staff concluded the task force was “useless and broken.” There were many other examples of dysfunction — confusion over face masks, shortages of personal protective equipment, conflict over reopening and mixed messages over boosters.
Texas Kids Would Need Parental Consent to Create Social Media Accounts Under House Bill
The Texas House on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that would require digital service providers such as social media platforms to get consent from a parent or guardian before entering into an agreement with minors younger than 18, including creating an account.
House Bill 18, from Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, said under the bill that social media companies will need to get consent from the parent of a minor through a form, toll-free telephone line, coordinated video conference call, collecting info from government-issued identification — with the expectation the info will be deleted — or email.
HB 18 would also let parents request access to any data on social media associated with the minor; companies would be required to establish “a simple and easily accessible method” for these requests.
Under the bill, providers that allow advertisers to advertise to known minors will also be required to disclose in a clear and accessible manner certain info at the time the ad is displayed, such as how any data associated with the minor’s use of the service leads to each ad.
Montana Governor Seeks to Broaden Bill That Would Ban TikTok to Cover Other Social Media Platforms — WSJ
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is seeking to broaden a bill that will ban not just TikTok, but other social media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Montana lawmakers passed a bill, known as SB 419, to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, from operating in the state.
TikTok as well as Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) and Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL.O) Google, which operate mobile app stores, would face fines if they violate the ban, should the bill become law.
The governor’s proposed language in the broader bill removes app stores from being held liable for offering such social media apps for downloading in the state, WSJ said, citing an amended draft of the bill.
Robot Dogs Deployed in New York Building Collapse Revive Surveillance Fears
“Digidog is out of the pound,” Eric Adams declared in April. The New York City mayor also insisted the successful use of the controversial robot in response to a recent building collapse should convince critics such devices can improve safety in the city.
First responders used the robot to search the rubble while safety concerns about the building’s structure persisted.
Critics said the use of such robots in the building collapse response did not negate legitimate concerns about the use of robots for surveillance and aggressive policing.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told the New York Times: “While deploying a robot is, of course, appropriate in situations like this, that doesn’t eliminate the need for transparency about this and other technologies that may have the capacity to engage in massive surveillance and routinely collect massive amounts of private personal data on millions of New Yorkers.”
Regulators Pledge to Use ‘Laws on the Books’ to Tackle AI Abuses
Top regulators from the Biden administration on Tuesday jointly reaffirmed their commitment to using the legal tools already at their disposal to crack down on artificial intelligence abuses, particularly discriminatory uses, as my colleague Cat Zakrzewski reported.
On a press call with reporters, federal agency leaders sought to settle any question over whether the surging technology could evade existing standards on civil rights and other issues.
But they largely sidestepped questions about what, if any, new laws may be needed to rein in AI, a debate that’s only just starting to gain steam on Capitol Hill.
Apple Plans AI-Powered Health Coaching Service, Mood Tracker and iPad Health App
Apple Inc. is working on an artificial intelligence-powered health coaching service and new technology for tracking emotions, its latest attempt to lock in users with health and wellness features.
The new coaching service — codenamed Quartz — is designed to keep users motivated to exercise, improve eating habits and help them sleep better, according to people with knowledge of the project. The idea is to use AI and data from an Apple Watch to make suggestions and create coaching programs tailored to specific users, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiatives haven’t been announced yet.
The move is part of a broader health push at the company, which has made such features central to its devices, especially the Apple Watch. Its latest efforts also include an expansion of the health app to the iPad and features that could help users with poor vision.
The service is planned for next year, but could ultimately be canceled or postponed. The project is being driven by several Apple groups, including its health, Siri and AI teams, as well as its services division.
Saudi Arabia’s Neom Is a $500 Billion Futuristic City Being Built in the Desert — but It Could Morph Into a Surveillance Dystopia
Saudi Arabia hopes to build a futuristic mega-city 33 times the size of New York City from scratch. Saudi officials describe it as “the world’s most ambitious project.”
It’s called Neom, a planned 16-borough city on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabuk.
As the plans developed, Crown Prince Mohammed’s decision to form a closer alliance with China’s President Xi Jinping has some analysts concerned. As Insider reported, they believe that the Saudis could be preparing to use sophisticated Chinese surveillance technology to tightly monitor and control Neom’s residents.
