EarthSky is joining the grassroots effort to #ShutDownSTEM and #Strike4BlackLives on Wednesday, June 10. Thousands of researchers around the world have pledged to pause their work on Wednesday to support the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and efforts against racism in the scientific community and society at large. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/shutdownstem-strike4blacklives-june-10-2020…
Tag: justice
IBM Gets Out of Facial Recognition Business, Calls On Congress To Advanced Policies Tackling Racial Injustice
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna called on Congress Monday to enact reforms to advance racial justice and combat systemic racism while announcing the company was getting out of the facial recognition business. CNBC reports: “IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human…
Reddit’s CEO Promises More Moderator Involvement in Shaping Corporate Policy
Reddit is vowing more changes after its co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned and requested they replace him with a black candidate. First Reddit’s other co-founder (and current CEO) Steve Huffman, calls it “a request that the board and I will honor.” But in a post on Reddit yesterday, CEO Huffman announced additional steps they’ll take, reports Mashable:
Huffman said the company will focus…
Google Search a Target of US Antitrust Probes, Rival Says
U.S. federal and state authorities are asking detailed questions about how to limit Google’s power in the online search market as part of their antitrust investigations into the tech giant, according to rival DuckDuckGo. From a report: Gabriel Weinberg, chief executive officer of the privacy-focused search engine, said he has spoken with state regulators, and talked with the U.S. Justice Department…
Snapchat To Stop Promoting Trump’s Content
Snapchat said Wednesday it would no longer promote President Donald Trump’s content in its Discover section, a move that brings the messaging company closer to Twitter’s approach in the ongoing debate over political speech. From a report: The company said in a statement that it would not “amplify voices who incite racial violence.” Snapchat’s Discover section typically features content from news…
DEA Authorized To Conduct Surveillance On Protesters
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to “conduct covert surveillance” and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News. Floyd’s death “has spawned widespread protests across the nation, which, in some instances, have…
The 50 Years of Crowd Control Research Police Are Ignoring
Thelasko shares an excerpt from FiveThirtyEight: Researchers have spent 50 years studying the way crowds of protesters and crowds of police behave — and what happens when the two interact. One thing they will tell you is that when the police respond by escalating force — wearing riot gear from the start, or using tear gas on protesters — it doesn’t…
A memo Coursera CEO and executives sent to employees earlier today reaffirming Coursera’s actions to address racial injustice through learning
Team, We are all hurt and outraged by the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and by the bigotry that Christian Cooper experienced in New York City. These racist acts bring to the forefront the fears and injustices that Black Americans have faced every day for generations. As I shared with […]
The post A memo Coursera CEO…
Are News Outlets Responsible For Comments Left On Their Facebook Pages?
Leading media outlets in Australia lost big in court when a judge ruled publishers can be sued for comments left on their Facebook pages. They’re now considering an appeal, reports the Financial Express:
The court upheld an earlier ruling in the Supreme Court that the outlets were “first or primary distributors” of the comments about Dylan Voller, a former detainee at Northern…
Senator Ted Cruz Calls For Criminal Investigation of Twitter
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in a letter Friday to the Justice and Treasury departments, is calling for a criminal investigation of Twitter over allegations the company is violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Twitter is already under fire from President Trump for adding fact checks and a warning label, respectively, to misleading and incendiary…