Censorship

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday repeated his organization’s judgment that China’s strategy of controlling the Wuhan coronavirus with harsh lockdowns is “not sustainable.” “We know the virus better and we have better tools, including vaccines, so that’s why the handling of the virus should actually be different from what we used to do at the start of the pandemic,” Tedros said , alluding to China’s alleged ability to control the original Wuhan coronavirus pandemic with strict citywide lockdowns. A girl looks from a window in a residential area on April 12, 2022 in Shanghai, China. (Getty Images) The W.H.O. director said his organization has advised Beijing that the latest mutations of Chinese coronavirus are considerably different from the original strain, so different methods might be advisable to control new outbreaks but said that “regarding their choice of policies, it is up to every country to make … [Read more...] about W.H.O.’s Tedros Trashes China Lockdowns After Insults, Censorship

Apple has reversed course on its plans to return to normal operations and has suspended requirements that employees return to the office this month for at least three days a week. The U-turn comes after woke employees called the mandate to return to the office a racist move designed to make the company “younger, whiter, and male-dominated.” The New York Times reports that Apple has reversed its plans to require workers to return to its offices for at least three days a week. The company has said this is due to a resurgence in coronavirus cases, but many employees have been openly protesting Apple’s plans to return to the offices for some time, placing heavy pressure on the tech giant. (AFP) (Justin Sullivan/Getty) Thousands of employees have been pushing back against the company’s demands, with the employee group Apple Together publishing a letter earlier this month calling on the firm to allow for a hybrid and flexible work schedule. The open letter claimed … [Read more...] about Apple Delays Return to Office After Woke Employee Mob Calls Its Plans Racist

More than two dozen groups have urged the US Supreme Court to block a Texas law that prohibits large social media companies from moderating content based on a user's "viewpoint." The Texas law, HB20 , "results in blatant violations of the First Amendment rights of platform providers," said a Supreme Court brief filed yesterday . The law taking effect means that "chaos will ensue online with disastrous and irreparable consequences," the brief said, continuing: With platforms unable to effectively moderate scammers, messages preying on vulnerable populations, including the elderly, will proliferate online. The uptick of this content will predictably result in yet more people being tricked into sending money to scammers or disclosing financial information, leading to identity theft and financial ruin. Platforms will be powerless to regulate speech praising terrorists and those who engage in murderous campaigns, with horrendous potential ramifications if even a single person … [Read more...] about Texas social media law will cause “chaos” online, Supreme Court is told

4:29 pm ET update: A Google spokesperson told Ars that the company hasn't changed anything with regard to blurring out sensitive sites in Russia, so perhaps none of us were looking closely until now. Original story: On Monday, the Internet got a much better look at military facilities across Russia. Google Maps stopped obscuring the sensitive locations due to Russia's ongoing invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the end of Google's censorship of Russia's bases on Twitter . Thanks to former US President Donald Trump, we know that the 0.5 m per pixel resolution available on Google Maps' satellite view is a far cry from the images available to the US government. But it will be invaluable to the growing mass of open source intelligence analysts. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in late February, the OSINT community on Twitter has been cataloging Russian losses by geolocating images of destroyed tanks, fighting vehicles, aircraft, and … [Read more...] about Correction: Google has not changed its blurring policies in Russia