As many of us here in America get ready for a peaceful Thanksgiving (and frantic Black Friday) it’s pretty much a given that big news is about to die down for a little bit. It’s tough to be excited for a hot announcement if you’re too drowsy from tryptophan. However, like a 5 p.m. Friday press release, now is a great time for bad news corporations hope gets buried under tons of stuffing. This week just started and already we’ve been bombarded with stories of awful behavior from the tech industry. We just hope you remember any of it next December.
Where to even begin? If we’re just talking chronologically, let’s start with the latest on Ring. The smart home security system has convinced countless boomers that this is the way to keep their family. But since national security trumps home privacy, the Amazon subsidiary has also partnered with over 600 law enforcement agencies.
And it turns out no one knows exactly how deep this partnership runs, how the police are using Ring footage to potentially spy on civilians after they connect to the Neighbors app. Months ago lawmakers requested more specific information, and as described on Ars Technica, the answers they finally received are pretty bleak. Cops can hold onto whatever footage they get as long as they want. Amazon considers this information volunteered. So users basically forfeit their right to privacy. Basically, mass surveillance is your fault.
Speaking of Amazon and law enforcement, the tech giant has also been harshly criticized over its ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, key foot soldiers in the current fascist regime. Immigration information that ICE uses for raids comes from Department of Homeland Security databases. And those databases are hosted on Amazon Web Services.
To protest this involvement, musicians are removing their songs from Amazon’s music players as part of No Music for Ice. As reported by The Verge, this Black Friday tracks from artists such as Atmosphere, YACHT, Zola Jesus, Deerhoof, The Black Madonna, and more will vanish for the platform. You can read their Medium post that lays out instructions for other musicians looking to join the revolt.
And finally we’ve got news on a mass revolt within Google. The search giant is just the latest uncaring company offended that its employees would dare take some agency in their own life by unionizing. Google already sent a loud message by hiring aggressive union-busting firm IRI Consultants. And now they’ve crossed over into outright (possibly illegal) retaliation by firing four prominent employee organizers.
Originally Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland were just suspended, and a few days ago hundreds of employees rallied in their defense. However, Google ultimately fired them along with two other employees. Google claims the termination was for “violations of data security policies” but it was to punish their labor activism. Rivers questioned Google’s involvement with Customs and Border Protection. And just last year Google also retaliated against the organizers of a mass walkout protesting the company’s internal misogyny.
What a cool industry! Organize your workplace.
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