The Defender is experiencing censorship<\/strong>\u00a0on many social channels. Be sure to stay in touch with the news that matters by\u00a0subscribing to our top news of the day<\/a>. It\u2019s free.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Technocracy News reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0Digital Passport<\/a>\u00a0enables individuals to participate safely and with peace of mind in activities that involve interactions with other people, including travel, attractions, conferences\/meetings, concerts, sports, school and more,\u201d officials added.<\/p>\n While details are scant about how the digital\u00a0vaccine passport<\/a>\u00a0would work, the Orange County health agency\u2019s director and health officer, Dr. Clayton Chau,\u00a0told the O.C. Register<\/a>\u00a0that the county\u2019s existing Othena vaccine scheduling app could be modified to include a credentialing feature.<\/p>\n The Othena app is being used to schedule vaccine appointments at the county\u2019s\u00a0mass inoculation<\/a>\u00a0sites, including at Disneyland.<\/p>\n The Defender reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n If the bills pass as currently written, the religious exemption would be removed immediately for children in daycare, preschool and kindergarten through sixth grade in public and private schools. However, religious exemptions already on file for students currently enrolled in grades seven through 12 and college would be upheld and those students would be allowed to remain in school. New students would be unable to obtain religious exemptions.<\/p>\n Connecticut health freedom advocates faced a number of challenges this year, including changes in membership on the Public Health Committee. State Reps. Jack Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, and David Michel, D-Stamford, who were the only two democrats to vote against the measure last February, did not get reappointed to the health committee.<\/p>\n The Verge reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n If the draft proposal is adopted, it would see the EU take a strong stance on certain applications of\u00a0AI<\/a>, setting it apart from the US and China. Some use cases would be policed in a manner similar to the EU\u2019s regulation of digital privacy under\u00a0GDPR legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Member states, for example, would be required to set up assessment boards to test and validate high-risk AI systems. And companies that develop or sell prohibited AI software in the EU \u2014 including those based elsewhere in the world \u2014 could be fined up to 4 percent of their global revenue.<\/p>\n Business Insider reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Europe\u2019s leading privacy regulator is investigating whether\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0broke the law in its handling of a leak of over 533 million people\u2019s phone numbers and personal data.<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s Data Protection Commission, the body charged with overseeing Facebook\u2019s privacy compliance in the European Union,\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0it had opened an investigation into the social media giant on Wednesday. If Facebook is found to have violated the EU\u2019s data rules, it could face a monetary fine of up to 4% of its $86 billion global revenue.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0statement<\/a>, the DPC said it believes EU data rules \u201cmay have been, and\/or are being, infringed in relation to Facebook Users\u2019 personal data.\u201d<\/p>\n AFP reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n E-commerce titan Alibaba absorbed the massive $2.78 billion penalty from China\u2019s market watchdog last Saturday, after a months-long investigation found it had been abusing its dominant market position.<\/p>\n Analysts say the chastening was part of Beijing\u2019s plan to force a diet on\u00a0tech giants<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 from Alibaba to Tencent to Baidu \u2014 who have grown fat on the data and personal finances of the Chinese public.<\/p>\n After being hit with China\u2019s biggest ever corporate fine \u2014 the equivalent of four percent of annual sales \u2014 Alibaba said it would \u201cfully comply\u201d and drop an exclusivity clause to allow merchants to also sell their goods on rival e-commerce platforms.<\/p>\n National Geographic reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The\u00a0PathCheck<\/a>\u00a0vaccine passport<\/a>\u00a0works by connecting certified vaccination records to a QR code that can be scanned by any facility or immigration office requiring such medical information. The data is stored in a way that can\u2019t be tampered with and is available offline. The information can also be distributed in a paper form from the vaccine provider so that those with no or limited internet would be able to use it.<\/p>\n There is a clear need to standardize data across vaccine passport options so that they can be used globally and in many languages. Eric Piscini, the project lead on a vaccine passport project developed by IBM, points to how businesses can accept multiple types of credit cards (all with slightly different back end technology) using the same card reader as an example of how such standardization would work.<\/p>\n Fox News reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Reasonable experts can and do disagree. It is this discord that fuels trial and error experimentation and discovery. Science, by its very nature, is rarely settled.<\/p>\n In the race for information about the novel virus, technology and media companies have jumped ahead to help shape narratives around partisan policies despite the science changing by the day.\u00a0Big Tech<\/a>\u00a0is collecting massive amounts of data while stifling free speech and removing content that goes against popular opinion.\u00a0 In Saphier\u2019s book \u201cPanic Attack<\/a>,\u201d she details the many ways Big Tech has censored contrarian opinions about the pandemic, leading to more discord and skepticism than the views themselves.<\/p>\n Fox 4 reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The Missouri House on Monday advanced a bill that would ban private businesses from\u00a0requiring proof of vaccination<\/a>\u00a0from either employees or customers.<\/p>\n The GOP-led House voted 88-56 to tack the provision on another bill.<\/p>\n The action comes amid backlash to the concept of so-called\u00a0vaccine passports<\/a>, which are documentation that shows travelers have been vaccinated against\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n Forbes reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The White House recently called for 100 percent high speed broadband coverage with a whopping $100 billion price tag. The goal to ensure coverage to all Americans is commendable as is the focus on people in rural areas. However the Biden plan ignores the reality of landline broadband provision in rural America, which is largely delivered by small-scale and family-owned businesses. Moreover, it rejects incorporating\u00a0Big Tech<\/a>\u00a0in network cost recovery, even though the Silicon Valley platforms have the most to gain from high-speed networks. New\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0examines this issue with an analysis of four fiber to the home networks in rural America. The networks have an average of 20,000 customers and cover 3000 square miles (about two-thirds the side of Connecticut) and include many non-white households with people low-income, the proffered focus of Biden\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n CNET reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Democrats argue that Section 230 prevents social media companies from doing more to moderate their platforms, such as taking down or\u00a0limiting hate speech<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0disinformation about COVID-19<\/a>. Republicans take a different view. They want the law repealed because of their perception that the Silicon Valley powerhouses are biased against the right and work to censor conservatives, like Trump, while giving liberal politicians a pass.<\/p>\n Thomas, who\u2019s long expressed originalist views about the First Amendment, echoed conservatives\u2019 concerns over censorship. His comments from the highest court in the US could amplify these complaints and help them gain traction in Congress.<\/p>\n Gizmodo reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n About two weeks ago, millions of\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0Chrome users were signed up for an experiment they never agreed to be a part of. Google had\u00a0just launched<\/a>\u00a0a test run for Federated Learning of Cohorts \u2014 or FLoC \u2013 a new kind of ad-targeting tech meant to be\u00a0less invasive<\/a>\u00a0than the average cookie. In a\u00a0blog post<\/a>\u00a0announcing the trial, the company noted that it would only impact a \u201csmall percentage\u201d of random users across ten different countries, including the US, Mexico, and Canada, with plans to expand globally as the trials run on.<\/p>\n The Verge reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The company\u2019s decision to fire Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell \u2014 two of its top\u00a0AI ethics<\/a>\u00a0researchers, who happened to be examining the downsides of technology integral to\u00a0Google\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0search products \u2014 has triggered waves of protest. Academics have registered their discontent in various ways. Two\u00a0backed out<\/a>\u00a0of a Google research workshop, a third\u00a0turned down<\/a>\u00a0a $60,000 grant from the company, and a fourth\u00a0pledged<\/a>\u00a0not to accept its funding in the future. Two engineers quit the company in\u00a0protest of Gebru\u2019s treatment<\/a>\u00a0and just last week, one of Google\u2019s top AI employees, a research manager named Samy Bengio who oversaw hundreds of workers,\u00a0resigned<\/a>. (Bengio did not mention the firings in an email announcing his resignation but earlier said he was \u201cstunned<\/a>\u201d by what happened to Gebru.)<\/p>\n The Daily Mail reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n One of their recent inventions, they told\u00a060 Minutes<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday night, was a microchip which detects\u00a0COVID<\/a>\u00a0infection in an individual before it can become an outbreak.<\/p>\n The\u00a0microchip<\/a>\u00a0is sure to spark worries among some about a government agency implanting a microchip in a citizen.<\/p>\n Officials who spoke to the 60 Minutes team said the Pentagon isn\u2019t looking to track your every move.<\/p>\n A more detailed explanation was not given.<\/p>\n Retired Colonel Matt Hepburn, an army infectious disease physician leading DARPA\u2019s response to the pandemic, showed the 60 Minutes team a tissue-like gel, engineered to continuously test your blood.<\/p>\n Mercola reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n While the mainstream media has, by and large, dismissed the theory that\u00a0SARS-CoV-2<\/a>\u00a0was created and leaked from a high-security biocontainment lab in Wuhan, China, a number of high-ranking U.S. officials are sticking to it, and there\u2019s probably good reason for this.<\/p>\n On the whole, if the virus was actually a natural occurrence, a series of improbable coincidences would have had to transpire. Meanwhile, a series of highly probable \u201ccoincidences\u201d point to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) being the most likely source, and to dismiss them as a whole simply doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n The Guardian reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The Guardian has seen extensive internal documentation showing how\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0handled more than 30 cases across 25 countries of politically manipulative behavior that was proactively detected by company staff.<\/p>\n The investigation shows how Facebook has allowed major abuses of its platform in poor, small and non-western countries in order to prioritize addressing abuses that attract media attention or affect the US and other wealthy countries. The company acted quickly to address political manipulation affecting countries such as the US, Taiwan, South Korea and Poland, while moving slowly or not at all on cases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Mongolia, Mexico, and much of Latin America.<\/p>\n The New York Times reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n An update to the contact tracing app used in England and Wales has been blocked from release by Apple and\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0because of privacy concerns, renewing a feud between the British government and the two\u00a0tech giants<\/a>\u00a0about how smartphones can be used to track\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0cases.<\/p>\n \u2026 The dispute, first reported by the\u00a0BBC<\/a>, highlights the supernational role that Apple and Google have played responding to the virus. The companies, which control the software of nearly every smartphone in the world, have forced governments to design contact tracing apps to their privacy specifications, or risk not having the tracking apps made available to the public. The gatekeeper role has\u00a0frustrated policymakers<\/a>\u00a0in Britain, France and elsewhere, who have argued those public health decisions are for governments, not private companies to make.<\/p>\n The New York Times reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The districts are racing to set up full-fledged online schools even as\u00a0concerns mount<\/a>\u00a0that remote learning has taken a substantial toll on many children\u2019s academic progress and\u00a0emotional health<\/a>. Parents and lawmakers, alarmed by the situation, have\u00a0urged schools to reopen<\/a>. Last month, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, went so far as to say there should be\u00a0no remote learning<\/a>\u00a0option for children in New Jersey this fall.<\/p>\n Even so, at least several hundred of the nation\u2019s 13,000 school districts have established\u00a0virtual schools<\/a>\u00a0this academic year, with an eye to operating them for years to come, education researchers said. Unlike many makeshift pandemic school programs, these stand-alone virtual schools have their own teachers, who work only with remote students and use curriculums designed for online learning.<\/p>\n The Guardian reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Facebook<\/a>\u00a0insists that it is\u00a0taking more action on health misinformation<\/a>, but conspiracy channels on the platform are nevertheless growing in popularity. In the first three months of this year the 100 accounts gained almost a million followers between them. This potentially puts the US tech giant in breach of its undertaking to the UK government last November that\u00a0it would work to stop users profiting from\u00a0coronavirus vaccine misinformation<\/a>\u00a0online.<\/p>\n The tracked accounts included a group of Instagrammers called Health Freedom for Humanity (HFFH). The group\u2019s executive director and cofounder is Alec Zeck, a 28-year-old serving US army captain and Olympic-level handball player. Zeck\u2019s 85,000-follower Instagram page hosts a range of misleading claims, including that the\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0virus has never been isolated. His account promotes HFFH, but also points to a page on linktr.ee, a startup used extensively by Instagrammers to direct users to other resources, sponsors and products for sale.<\/p>\n The Guardian reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Last week Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, admitted on The Verge website that the Cambridge Analytica scandal had \u201crocked Facebook right down to its foundations\u201d. And yet it has learned nothing. It has paid no real price (the record $5 billion fine it paid to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is literally no price at all to Facebook), suffered no real consequences, and failed to answer any questions over the involvement of its executives.<\/p>\n That impunity was in full sight this week. The news of the latest breach, of 533 million people\u2019s data, dropped over a holiday weekend; Facebook responded only by saying it was \u201cold data\u201d and the problem had been \u201cfound and fixed in August 2019\u201d \u2013 an absurd statement given that the data had only just been dumped on the internet, and clearly that hadn\u2019t been fixed at all.<\/p>\n CNBC reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n ATAI Life Sciences, a Peter Thiel-backed biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic drugs to treat mental health, has taken a majority stake in U.S. firm Psyber.<\/p>\n Psyber is a business that wants to use\u00a0brain computer interfaces<\/a>\u00a0to help treat people with mental health conditions.<\/p>\n ATAI, which describes itself as a drug development platform, was set up to acquire, incubate and develop psychedelics and other drugs that can be used to treat depression, anxiety, addiction and other mental health conditions.<\/p>\n Forbes reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Ever struggle with putting a name to a face? There\u2019s an app for that.<\/p>\n It was created and patented by one of the U.S. government\u2019s most trusted surveillance labs, the nonprofit research center Mitre Corp. The organization is like James Bond\u2019s Q lab but for the whole of the federal government. The Virginia-based Skunk Works has in the past churned out\u00a0autonomous surveillance drones<\/a>,\u00a0smartwatch hacking tech<\/a>\u00a0and tools to take fingerprints from social media images. And Forbes has found a previously unreported\u00a0patent<\/a>\u00a0that seeks to boost facial recognition technology by guessing someone\u2019s name by just looking at their face\u2019s characteristics.<\/p>\n The Defender reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n In August 2020, Children\u2019s Health Defense (CHD) filed\u00a0a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, Mark Zuckerberg and two of Facebook\u2019s \u201cfact checkers.\u201d The lawsuit asserts claims of illegal censorship in violation of the\u00a0First Amendment<\/a>, illegal \u201ctaking\u201d in violation of the\u00a0Fifth Amendment<\/a>\u00a0and corporate fraud in violation of federal law \u2014\u00a0Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations<\/a>(RICO) and\u00a0Lanham<\/a>\u00a0Acts.<\/p>\n On Nov.13, 2020, CHD filed a 150-page\u00a0first amended complaint<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, detailing factual allegations regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Foundation and World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) extensive relationships and collaborations with Facebook and\u00a0Zuckerberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fox 13 reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n House Bill 248<\/a>, introduced Wednesday, would allow Ohioans to decline a\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0shot \u2013 or any other vaccine \u2013 because of religious reasons, medical reasons or natural immunity, according to our media partners at the\u00a0Enquirer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The proposal would prevent anyone who chooses\u00a0not to be vaccinated<\/a>\u00a0from facing discrimination, being denied services or forced to follow a requirement that they wear masks or other penalties financial or social from businesses, schools or government.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a matter of freedom,\u201d state Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, said of her bill. \u201cThe purpose of this legislation is to allow people to choose to do what they feel is best for their own body and protect individuals from any consequences or hardships for choosing one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n The Atlantic reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n While many Americans will inevitably balk at\u00a0vaccine mandates<\/a>\u00a0and sharing health data with elected officials, as a country, we\u2019ve historically proved willing to share that information in exchange for free stuff. Nudges like free donuts may ultimately be what makes Americans comfortable with the idea of a\u00a0vaccine passport<\/a>. It\u2019s not just\u00a0Krispy Kreme<\/a>. Instacart is now offering a $25 coupon if you\u2019ve been vaccinated. Employees of Target, Amtrak, and McDonald\u2019s get several hours of additional pay.<\/p>\n All these measures would likely be more efficient and more fairly executed with a simple vaccine passport. As more and more people are inconvenienced by trying to prove they\u2019ve been\u00a0vaccinated<\/a>, the need for an app will become clear. We\u2019ll wonder why this was ever a debate.<\/p>\n Vox reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Limited AI systems have taken on an ever-bigger role in our lives, wrangling our news feeds, trading stocks, translating and transcribing text, scanning digital pictures, taking restaurant orders, and writing fake product reviews and news articles. And while there\u2019s always the possibility that\u00a0AI development<\/a>\u00a0will hit another wall, there\u2019s reason to think it won\u2019t: All of the above applications have the potential to be hugely profitable, which means there will be sustained investment from some of the biggest companies in the world. AI capabilities are reasonably likely to keep growing until they\u2019re a transformative force.<\/p>\n New York Post reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Science and medicine can do a lot to make our lives better. But for that to happen, we have to be able to trust the public authorities, companies and institutions that produce and oversee the innovations.<\/p>\n We\u2019re already seeing the sad fruits of distrust in the unwillingness of many people \u2014 including health workers on both sides of the Atlantic \u2014 to\u00a0take the COVID-19 vaccines<\/a>. People don\u2019t trust experts and government agencies as they once did, which means assurances of vaccine safety often fail to persuade. When health officials and other authorities manipulate the public, as they have throughout this pandemic, they lose credibility.<\/p>\n \u2026 Back then, we thought, perhaps foolishly, that\u00a0those companies<\/a>\u00a0worked for us. Now we have learned that all too often \u2014 and no doubt still more often than we know \u2014 they\u2019re simply using us for their own benefit, harvesting our data, manipulating our behavior and otherwise being, well, \u00aduntrustworthy. (Another friend joked that the way the tech companies\u2019 politics are going, they might decide not to stop your heart \u00adattack if they thought you might vote the wrong way. That\u2019s not as crazy-sounding as it might have been in 2005, I\u2019m afraid.)<\/p>\n Newsweek reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIdahoans should be given the choice to receive the\u00a0vaccine<\/a>,\u201d Little said in a statement. \u201cWe should not violate Idahoans\u2019 personal freedoms by requiring them to receive it.\u00a0Vaccine passports<\/a>\u00a0create different classes of citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVaccine passports restrict the free flow of commerce during a time when life and the economy are returning to normal,\u201d he added. \u201cVaccine passports threaten individual freedom and patient privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n News Observer reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The South Carolina Senate unanimously approved Wednesday a proposal to prevent employers from\u00a0mandating COVID-19 vaccines<\/a>\u00a0for workers.<\/p>\n The resolution advanced by senators states that employers can\u2019t punish or fire their workers for refusing to get the shots.<\/p>\n The measure also states that the Department of Health and Environmental Control would not be able to require people who refuse to get vaccinated to quarantine or isolate themselves.<\/p>\n CNBC reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Travel restrictions that require proof of\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0vaccines or negative tests should be lifted once\u00a0the pandemic<\/a>\u00a0is under control, the new head of the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are measures that may be necessary as temporary arrangements while we go through this crisis, but once we\u2019re through it, we want to see these restrictions permanently removed so people can get back to traveling as they experienced back in 2019,\u201d Willie Walsh, former CEO of British Airways\u2019 parent\u00a0International Consolidated Airlines Group<\/a>, said in his first press briefing as IATA\u2019s director general.<\/p>\n Concord Monitor reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll come straight to the point,\u201d he said. \u201cI will not put kids on the track and tell them to run any races while wearing masks.\u201d<\/p>\n Brutally honest in his message to Vezina, Keyes said the athletic directors and school boards that followed New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association recommendations and agreed to outdoor mask-wearing were being dishonest to the athletes, by making decisions without wisdom or science.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, the real reason I won\u2019t do it is because it\u2019s senseless, irrational, cowardice b\u2014\u2014t and I will not help cover that up,\u201d Keyes wrote. \u201cI will not stand up in front of the kids and lie to them and tell them that these masks are doing anything worthwhile out in an open field with wind blowing and the sun shining.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFire me if you must,\u201d was the title of his follow up message. On Monday, his school bosses did just that. He\u2019s posted his letters and rationale behind them on his\u00a0track and field website<\/a>.<\/p>\n CNBC reported<\/b><\/a>:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Already, Cornell University, Rutgers University, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and St. Edward\u2019s University in Austin, Texas, have said vaccinations will be\u00a0mandatory<\/a>\u00a0for students before returning to campus in the fall.<\/p>\n \u201cMedical and religious exemptions will be accommodated, but the expectation will be that our campuses and classrooms will overwhelmingly consist of\u00a0vaccinated<\/a>\u00a0individuals, greatly reducing the risk of infection for all,\u201d Cornell President Martha Pollack and Provost Michael Kotlikoff\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Omaha World Herald reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Nebraska\u2019s colleges and universities won\u2019t require students to get one of the approved coronavirus\u00a0vaccines<\/a>\u00a0before they return to campus for the fall 2021 semester.<\/p>\n But many schools are encouraging students and faculty to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, saying it would help campus life return to normal.<\/p>\n USA TODAY reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Norwegian shared a letter written by Del Rio, the company\u2019s president and CEO, addressed to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Monday outlining its plans to resume sailing with intent to have vessels depart with\u00a0vaccinated<\/a>\u00a0passengers and crew starting in July.<\/p>\n The intention, Del Rio said, is for the vaccination policy to apply to all ships, no matter the port of departure. No age group will be exempt from the vaccination requirement.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The U.K. launched a new regulatory body aimed at policing allegations of anticompetitive behavior among the world\u2019s largest\u00a0technology companies<\/a>, adding another agency to a growing list of watchdogs scrutinizing how tech giants use their market heft.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s new Digital Markets Unit will be tasked with making sure tech giants like\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0Inc. and Alphabet Inc.\u2019s\u00a0Google<\/a>\u00a0don\u2019t exploit any market dominance to crowd out competition, officials here said. The new unit was unveiled last year but launched officially\u2014with limited powers at first\u2014late Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Denver Channel reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The Colorado Supreme Court will take up the scope of modern police\u00a0surveillance<\/a>\u00a0in a case Tuesday that centers on officers in Colorado Springs who used a camera to spy on a man for three months without ever getting permission from a court to do so.<\/p>\n The justices will consider whether police violated the man\u2019s constitutional rights when they put a camera on a utility pole across the street from his house and watched his driveway, front yard and part of his backyard for months, angling the remote-controlled camera, which could pan and zoom, so that it could see over the man\u2019s 6-foot-tall privacy fence.<\/p>\n The New York Times reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas became the latest Republican governor to issue an executive order barring state agencies and private entities receiving funds from the state from requiring\u00a0proof of vaccination<\/a>. The\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>, citing equity concerns, also said on Tuesday that it currently did not support mandatory proof of vaccination for international travel.<\/p>\n Others are moving forward. Universities like Rutgers, Brown and Cornell have already said they will require proof of vaccination for students this fall. The Miami Heat\u00a0this week became<\/a>\u00a0the first team in the N.B.A. to open\u00a0special \u201cvaccinated only\u201d sections<\/a>.<\/p>\n And though businesses have yet to announce outright bans on unvaccinated clientele, some states and technology firms are preparing: At least 17 companies or nonprofits are developing websites or apps that might be used by sporting venues, restaurants and other businesses seeking to keep their customers and employees safe, according to Joel White, the executive director of the Health Innovation Alliance, a broad coalition of health providers,\u00a0tech companies<\/a>, employers and insurers.<\/p>\n The New York Times reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Every minute,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0is bombarded with videos that run afoul of its\u00a0many guidelines<\/a>, whether pornography or copyrighted material or violent extremism or dangerous misinformation. The company has refined its artificially intelligent computer systems in recent years\u00a0to prevent most of these so-called violative videos<\/a>\u00a0from being uploaded to the site, but\u00a0 continues to come\u00a0under scrutiny<\/a>\u00a0for its failure to curb the spread of dangerous content.<\/p>\n In an effort to demonstrate its effectiveness in finding and removing rule-breaking videos, YouTube on Tuesday disclosed a new metric: the Violative View Rate. It is the percentage of total views on YouTube that come from videos that do not meet its guidelines before the videos are removed.<\/p>\n The Atlantic reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Though Israel\u2019s\u00a0green-pass system<\/a>\u00a0has been\u00a0credited<\/a>\u00a0with motivating people to get a jab, that isn\u2019t its primary goal. \u201cThe reason these rules have been put in place is not to encourage\u00a0vaccine-hesitant<\/a>\u00a0people to get vaccinated,\u201d Ran Balicer, the chairman of Israel\u2019s national\u00a0coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0task force and the chief innovation officer of Clalit, the country\u2019s largest health-care provider, told me. \u201cIt\u2019s simply done to make sure that vaccinated people can go and safely eat and enjoy cultural activities and not be exposed to\u00a0undue risk<\/a>\u00a0during this process.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem, however, is that intention and perception don\u2019t always align. The pandemic has already inordinately affected people on the basis of\u00a0race<\/a>,\u00a0gender<\/a>, and\u00a0socioeconomic status<\/a>, and vaccine appointments are\u00a0disproportionately<\/a>\u00a0being taken up by white Britons and those from more affluent areas. By making a return to normal social activity contingent on vaccination, natural immunity, or a negative COVID-19 test, those inequalities could be ingrained further. Though London has promoted testing as an equalizer that will prevent nonvaccinated people from being excluded, it isn\u2019t widely accessible in Britain. Until it is, \u201cthe same people who are most at risk are going to be the same people who are least able to get a test,\u201d Clare Wenham, an assistant professor of global-health policy at the London School of Economics, told me, noting the challenges facing those who cannot currently access testing due to cost, inability to get time off work, and transport issues.<\/p>\n Forbes reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Thiel, who calls himself a tech contrarian and got his start in\u00a0Silicon Valley<\/a>\u00a0as a PayPal cofounder, has openly criticized\u00a0Alphabet\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0artificial intelligence work in China and Apple\u2019s reliance on the country for its overall supply chain. Pressed on what legislators can do to stop the \u201cinfiltration\u201d of Chinese influence in American technology companies, Thiel offered one piece of advice: keep applying pressure on tech companies. \u201cYou need to call people out on that relentlessly,\u201d Thiel said.<\/p>\n A Facebook board member since 2005, Thiel also discussed how the social network\u2019s employee base made it more difficult for the company to take a tough stance against China. Thiel brought up the debates among\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0employees during Hong Kong\u2019s pro-democracy protests in 2020 as an example for how internal politics prevented Facebook from taking a more anti-China bent.<\/p>\n Variety reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Italy has officially abolished film\u00a0censorship<\/a>\u00a0by scrapping legislation that since 1913 has allowed the government to censor scenes and ban movies such as, most famously, Pier Paolo Pasolini\u2019s \u201cSal\u00f2 or the 120 Days of Sodom\u201d and Bernardo Bertolucci\u2019s \u201cLast Tango in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n The move \u2014 which is symbolically important, though censorship is de-facto no longer practiced \u2014 definitively does away with \u201cthe system of controls and interventions that still allowed the Italian state to intervene on the freedom of artists,\u201d said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini who late Monday announced a new decree ending the government\u2019s powers to censor cinema.<\/p>\n Forbes reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n Gov. Greg Abbott banned\u00a0government-mandated<\/a>\u00a0vaccine passports<\/a>\u00a0through executive order Tuesday, making Texas the latest state to reject proposals for a system that would require individuals to prove they have been vaccinated against the\u00a0coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2026\u00a0 \u201cTexans shouldn\u2019t be required to show proof of vaccination & reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives,\u201d Abbott said in a statement. \u201cDon\u2019t tread on our personal freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n The Washington Post reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n YouTube<\/a>\u00a0released data on Tuesday arguing that it is getting better at spotting and removing videos that break its rules against\u00a0disinformation<\/a>, hate speech and other banned content.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Google<\/a>-owned video service said 0.16 percent to 0.18 percent of all the video views on its platform during the fourth quarter of 2020 were on content that broke its rules. That\u2019s down 70 percent from the same period in 2017, the year the company began tracking it.<\/p>\n \u2026 Democratic lawmakers say the company still isn\u2019t doing enough. They have floated numerous proposals to change a decades-old law known as\u00a0Section 230<\/a>\u00a0to make Internet companies\u00a0more liable for hate<\/a>\u00a0speech posted on their platforms. Republicans want to change the law too, but with the stated goal of making it harder for social media companies to ban certain accounts. The unproven idea that Big Tech is biased against conservatives is popular with Republican voters.<\/p>\n CNBC reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n While he agreed that Trump\u2019s Twitter account did \u201cresemble a constitutionally protected public forum\u201d in some respects, \u201cit seems rather odd to say that something is a government forum when a private company has unrestricted authority to do away with it,\u201d he said, referencing Twitter\u2019s decision to remove Trump\u2019s account from the platform following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n \u201cAny control Mr. Trump exercised over the account greatly paled in comparison to Twitter\u2019s authority, dictated in its terms of service, to remove the account \u2018at any time for any or no reason,\u2019\u201d Thomas wrote.<\/p>\n Thomas said the solution to the unprecedented issues presented by the\u00a0tech platforms<\/a>\u00a0could lie \u201cin doctrines that limit the right of a private company to exclude.\u201d<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n The Irish Data Protection Commission is trying to \u201cestablish the full facts\u201d since the weekend and so far \u201creceived no proactive communication from\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u201d the regulator said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. It said the\u00a0tech company<\/a>\u00a0assured it that \u201cit is giving highest priority to providing firm answers\u201d to the authority.<\/p>\n Personal information on 533 million Facebook users reemerged on a hacker website for free on Saturday. The information included phone numbers and email address of users, the regulator said Tuesday. Facebook has\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the data is old and was already reported on in 2019.<\/p>\n BBC reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n England and Wales\u2019\u00a0contact tracing app<\/a>\u00a0will soon ask users to share details of venues they have checked in to, if they test positive for the\u00a0coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n The update to the NHS COVID-19 app will be deployed ahead of shops reopening in both nations on 12 April, as well as outdoor hospitality in England.<\/p>\n The authorities will be able to use the information to tell other visitors if they need to be\u00a0tested for the virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the system has been designed to protect users\u2019 anonymity.<\/p>\n The Crimson reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n According to the Keutsch research group\u2019s website, the project\u2019s goal is to better understand solar geoengineering, a controversial strategy that could be used to curb global warming. The project is supported in part by\u00a0philanthropist Bill Gates<\/a>\u00a0through SEAS\u2019s Solar Geoengineering Research Program.<\/p>\n The Keutsch group planned its first test flight for June 2021, which would have launched a high-altitude balloon over Kiruna, Sweden, but would not have included the release of the particles. On Wednesday, however, the Swedish Space Corporation suspended the test under pressure from the Saami Council, which represents Indigenous Scandinavian peoples.<\/p>\n BBC reported<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n It would be \u201cremiss\u201d of the government not to consider COVID\u00a0certification<\/a>\u00a0as a way of fully reopening the economy, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi says.<\/p>\n Amid criticism of the plans, Mr Zahawi said: \u201cIt\u2019s only right that we look at all these options that are available to us to take our lives back.\u201d<\/p>\n The government said certificates showing vaccination, test or immunity status could \u201cprovide reassurance.\u201d<\/p>\n Boris Johnson said they could help signal a person is not contagious.<\/p>\nApril 14<\/b><\/h1>\n
Orange County, CA Plans Launch Of Digital Vaccine Passport<\/b><\/h2>\n
Connecticut Lawmakers to Vote on Repealing Religious Exemption to Vaccine Mandates<\/b><\/h2>\n
The EU Is Considering a Ban on AI for Mass Surveillance and Social Credit Scores<\/b><\/h2>\n
Facebook is Under Investigation in the EU for Its Massive Leak of 533 Million People\u2019s Data \u2014 and It Could Face a Fine in the Billions<\/b><\/h2>\n
China\u2019s Big Tech \u2018Rectification\u2019 Continues After Alibaba Record Fine<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Daunting Challenges Surrounding Vaccine Passports<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 13<\/h1>\n
Dr. Saphier & Chaffetz: Big Tech vs. Science \u2014 Suppressing Debate Hurts Fight Against COVID<\/b><\/h2>\n
Missouri House Votes Against Proof-of-Vaccine Mandates<\/b><\/h2>\n
Biden\u2019s $100 Billion Broadband Plan Gives Big Tech a Free Ride<\/b><\/h2>\n
A Supreme Court Justice Weighs in on Section 230: Here\u2019s What It Means<\/b><\/h2>\n
What You Need to Know About FLoC, the Ad-Targeting Tech Google Plans to Drop on Us All<\/b><\/h2>\n
Google Is Poisoning Its Its Reputation With AI Researchers<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 12<\/b><\/h1>\n
Pentagon Scientists Reveal a Microchip That Senses COVID-19 in Your Body<\/b><\/h2>\n
14 Countries, Including U.S., Hit Back Against WHO Investigation Into COVID Origins<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Facebook Loophole That Lets World Leaders Deceive and Harass Their Citizens<\/b><\/h2>\n
As England Reopens, Apple and Google Block Update to Tracing App<\/b><\/h2>\n
Online Schools Are Here to Stay, Even After the Pandemic<\/b><\/h2>\n
Facebook \u2018Still Too Slow to Act on Groups Profiting from COVID Conspiracy Theories\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n
Another Huge Data Breach, Another Stony Silence from Facebook<\/b><\/h2>\n
Peter Thiel-Backed Firm Takes Majority Stake in a Brain Computer Interface Start-Up<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 9<\/b><\/h1>\n
A $2 Billion Government Surveillance Lab Created Tech That Guesses Your Name By Simply Looking At Your Face<\/b><\/h2>\n
Federal Government Illegally Pressured Facebook to Censor CHD Website, Social Media Content, Lawsuit Alleges<\/b><\/h2>\n
Ohio GOP Lawmakers Want to Protect Those Refusing COVID-19 Shot from Discrimination<\/b><\/h2>\n
A Better Solution Than Laminating Your Vaccine Card<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Future of AI Is Being Shaped Right Now. How Should Policymakers Respond?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Big Tech\u2019s \u2018Trust\u2019 Problem Will Soon Cost Lives by Scaring People Away from Life-Saving Technology<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 8<\/b><\/h1>\n
Idaho Becomes 3rd State to Ban COVID-19 \u2018Vaccine Passports,\u2019 Iowa Could Be Next<\/b><\/h2>\n
S.C. Senate Approves Proposal Barring Mandatory COVID Vaccines<\/b><\/h2>\n
Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination, Tests Should Only Be Temporary Travel Requirements, Industry Group Says<\/b><\/h2>\n
Track Coach Fired for Refusing to Force Athletes to Wear Masks<\/b><\/h2>\n
More Colleges Move to Make Vaccines Mandatory for Students<\/b><\/h2>\n
Nebraska Colleges Not Planning to Make COVID Vaccine Mandatory<\/b><\/h2>\n
\u2018100% Vaccinated\u2019: Norwegian Announces Vaccine Requirement for All Passengers, Crew on Cruises<\/b><\/h2>\n
U.K. Launches New Competition Watchdog Targeting Big Tech<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 7<\/b><\/h1>\n
Can Police Spy Without a Warrant? Colorado Supreme Court To Consider Modern Surveillance Techniques<\/b><\/h2>\n
Likely Legal, \u2018Vaccine Passports\u2019 Emerge as the Next Coronavirus Divide<\/b><\/h2>\n
YouTube Discloses the Percentage of Views Going to Videos That Break Its Rules<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Futility of Vaccine Passports<\/b><\/h2>\n
Peter Thiel, In Roundtable With Mike Pompeo, Criticizes Big Tech\u2019s Relationship With China and the Deplatforming Of Trump<\/b><\/h2>\n
Italy Abolishes Film Censorship, Ending Government Power to Ban Movies<\/b><\/h2>\n
***<\/h2>\n
April 6<\/b><\/h1>\n
Texas Gov. Abbott Bans Vaccine Passports<\/b><\/h2>\n
YouTube Says It\u2019s Getting Better at Taking Down Videos That Break Its Rules. They Still Number in the Millions<\/b><\/h2>\n
Justice Thomas Suggests Regulating Tech Platforms Like Utilities<\/b><\/h2>\n
Facebook Data Leak Scrutinized by Big Tech\u2019s Top EU Data Watchdog<\/b><\/h2>\n
NHS COVID-19 Contact Tracing App To Share QR Code Venue Check-Ins<\/b><\/h2>\n
SEAS Researchers Postpone Test Flight for Controversial Geoengineering Project to Block Sun<\/b><\/h2>\n
COVID Passports: Certification Is \u2018One Option,\u2019 Vaccines Minister Says<\/b><\/h2>\n
SHC Asks if 5g Harmful To Health<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\nCalifornia County Plans Launch of Digital Vaccine Passport + More<\/strong><\/h1>\n
California County Plans Launch of Digital Vaccine Passport + More<\/strong><\/h1>\nThe Defender\u2019s Big Brother NewsWatch brings you the latest headlines related to governments\u2019 abuse of power, including attacks on democracy, civil liberties and use of mass surveillance.<\/em><\/h3>\nBy Children’s Health Defense Team<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By Children’s Health Defense Team<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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