California’s elections include grass roots propositions that change the law directly while bypassing legislators. Uber, Lyft, and Uber-owned Postmates (as well as DoorDash and Instacart) have spent $185 million — the most ever spent — pushing a proposition that would keep ride-hail and delivery drivers as independent contractors, reports SFGate. “If it passes…gig corporations won’t have to contribute to Social Security,…
Tag: Corporations
Tech’s New Gig Worker Underclass: Customer Service Reps Who Have to Pay to Talk to You
The Pulitzer prize-winning news nonprofit Propublica looks at Arise Virtual Solutions, part of the secretive world of work-at-home customer service companies that help large corporations shed costs at the expense of workers. And thanks to the pandemic, “business is booming.” Arise lines up customer service agents who work from home. It then sells this network of agents to blue-chip corporations. Arise…
Two Ex-Apple Rock Stars Have Raised $30M To Build the Next iPhone
In 2017, two of Apple’s top design and technology executives decided to leave the company to start their own venture with an ambitious vision: to create the next big computing paradigm. That startup, called Humane, is now announcing that it has raised $30 million in a series A round of venture funding to continue developing its mysterious product. From a report:…
Microsoft: Some Ransomware Attacks Take Less Than 45 Minutes
Catalin Cimpanu, writing for ZDNet: For many years, the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report has been the gold standard in terms of providing a yearly overview of all the major events and trends in the cyber-security and threat intelligence landscape. While Microsoft unceremoniously retired the old SIR reports back in 2018, the OS maker appears to have realized its mistake, and has…
Police Charity Bought An iPhone Hacking Tool and Gave It To Cops
The San Diego Police Foundation, an organization that receives donations from corporations, purchased iPhone unlocking technology for the city’s police department, according to emails obtained by Motherboard. From the report: The finding comes as activist groups place renewed focus on police foundations, which are privately run charities that raise funds from Wall Street banks and other companies, purchase items, and then…
Google’s Epic Response: Android 12 Will Make It Easier To Install App Stores
Google today announced it will make it easier to install and use third-party app stores with the release of Android 12 next year. From a report: Google also reiterated its existing Payments Policy for in-app purchases of digital goods: Android developers who want to distribute apps and games on Google Play, must use Play’s billing system. Google is offering a 1-year…
Too Many Staff Have Privileged Work Accounts For No Good Reason, Reckon IT Bods
Around 40 per cent of staff in British and American corporations have access to sensitive data that they don’t need to complete their jobs, according to recent research. From a report: In a survey commissioned by IT security firm Forcepoint of just under 900 IT professionals, 40 per cent of commercial sector respondents and 36 per cent working in the public…
Is Canada About to Crack Down on Google and Facebook?
The Minister of Canadian heritage has a message for Google and Facebook, reports the Toronto Star: “The Canadian government stands with our Australian partners and denounces any form of threats,” Steven Guilbeault said in an emailed statement to the Star’s Susan Delacourt. The “threats” Guilbeault referred to involved some of the world’s richest and most influential corporations, Facebook and Google, which…
California Amends Freelancer Law, But Still Pursues Gig-Worker Companies and Food-Delivery Services
“California is exempting about two-dozen more professions from a landmark labor law designed to treat more people like employees instead of contractors, under a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday,” reports the San Diego Union-Tribune: The amendments, which take effect immediately, end what lawmakers said were unworkable limits on services provided by freelance writers and still photographers, photojournalists, and…
Andrew Yang Takes Lead Role In California Data Privacy Campaign
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is throwing his weight behind California’s November data privacy ballot measure — not just endorsing the initiative but chairing its advisory board, the Proposition 24 campaign announced Monday. Politico reports: Yang’s involvement could bring more visibility and cachet to the effort, given the tech entrepreneur’s national profile and popularity among younger voters. It could also help…