England’s quarantine hotels won’t stop spread of coronavirus variants

UK health secretary Matt Hancock ignores government science advice for mandatory quarantine of all visitors, making it unlikely that measures will stop the spread of new variants Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2267688-englands-quarantine-hotels-wont-stop-spread-of-coronavirus-variants/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data To be Shared With Facebook

WhatsApp’s latest terms and privacy policy allows the popular messaging app to share a significant amount of user data with Facebook. From a report: WhatsApp users are today receiving an in-app notice informing them about the app’s updated terms of service and privacy policy. The notice gives an overview of the main three updates, covering how WhatsApp processes user data, how…

Cable Companies Can No Longer ‘Rent’ You the Router You Already Own

Is your internet service provider charging you every month for the cable modem or router that you purchased with your own money? Or, perhaps, have you never bothered to buy those items because you couldn’t escape the fee? That fee is illegal as of yesterday. From a report: Last year, Congress passed a law that should have fixed this ridiculous loophole…

European Parliament Votes For Right To Repair

In a landmark move, the European Parliament voted today to support consumers’ Right to Repair. The resolution was adopted with 395 in favor and just 94 against, with 207 abstentions. iFixit reports: “By adopting this report, the European Parliament sent a clear message: harmonized mandatory labelling indicating durability and tackling premature obsolescence at EU level are the way forward,” said Rapporteur…

Russia Orders National Mask Mandate As COVID-19 Cases Spike

In an effort to curb the second wave of COVID-19, the Russian government on Tuesday implemented a nationwide mask mandate, as coronavirus cases spike worldwide. CBS News reports: Under the new mandate, effective Wednesday, masks will be mandatory in crowded public spaces, such as public transportation, parking lots and elevators, according to the order published on the website for the federal…

What If the Government Ran a Social Network?

A publicly-funded social network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation “has been proposed as one possible response if Facebook and Google limit services in Australia when the mandatory news code becomes law this year,” reports the Guardian: Facebook has warned it will block Australians from sharing news if the landmark plan to make digital platforms pay for news content becomes law….

Dropbox is the Latest San Francisco Tech Company To Make Remote Work Permanent

San Francisco-based Dropbox announced this week that it will stop asking employees to come into its offices and instead make remote work the standard practice, even after the coronavirus pandemic ends. From a report: “Remote work (outside an office) will be the primary experience for all employees and the day-to-day default for individual work,” the company said in a blog post….

Silicon Valley Tech Workers Angered By Proposal to Make Some Mandatory Telecommuting Permanent

“The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional government agency in the San Francisco Bay Area, voted Wednesday to move forward with a proposal to require people at large, office-based companies to work from home three days a week as a way to slash greenhouse gas emissions from car commutes,” reports NBC News: It’s a radical suggestion that likely would have been a…

How a Covid-19 Outbreak Spared Masked Starbucks Employees

gollum123 shared this article from MarketWatch: Do masks really work? Ask the dozens of Starbucks customers who tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul this month after a woman with coronavirus sat under one of the cafe’s air-conditioners. According to a local news report, at least 56 coronavirus cases have been linked to that one customer. The kicker: The four masked workers…

Should America Re-Open Its Movie Theatres?

70% of America’s movie theatres have now re-opened for business, reports NPR: “When our patrons come back, they’ll see the safe environment we’ve provided for them,” said John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. Fithian invited two medical experts and the heads of the country’s biggest theater chains to launch a public awareness campaign dubbed “CinemaSafe,”…