A West Virginia news publisher has filed an antitrust suit against Google and Facebook, who dominate the online ad market. The company, HD Media, owns several papers in the state, including the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington and the Charleston Gazette-Mail. HD Media filed in federal court in West Virginia and asked for a jury trial. The company does not specify the impact on its business of the behavior of Facebook and Google beyond saying that it has hurt its ability to “effectively monetize its content” because Google is enabled to take an uncompetitive share of its ad revenues. A lawyer for the company declined to speak on the record.
Business
Posted inArticle, Business
Corporations with Rhode Island ties reviewing political donations
Last week’s violence at the U.S. Capitol is prompting corporations across the state to reconsider how they donate to politicians.
Posted inArticle, Business
Businesses rethink political donations after Capitol siege
Businesses are rethinking political contributions in the wake of the deadly Capitol siege by President Donald Trump’s supporters on Wednesday. Citigroup is pausing all federal political donations for the first three months of the year. In a memo to employees, Citi’s head of global government affairs Candi Wolff said the company wanted its employees to be assured that Citigroup will not support candidates “who do not respect the rule of law.” The trade group representing Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, meanwhile, said it’s suspending political contributions to lawmakers who voted last week to reject the Electoral College results that cemented Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Posted inArticle, Business
Trump orders ban on transactions with more Chinese apps
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay and WeChat pay. The order goes into effect in 45 days, at which point Joe Biden will be the president, so the order’s fate is unclear. The orders follow two others Trump signed in August banning dealings with the popular video app TikTok as well as WeChat. The order’s follow two others Trump signed in August, banning dealings with the popular video app TikTok as well as WeChat. The fate of those apps in the U.S. is still unclear.
Posted inArticle, Business, Health
Twitter to start removing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
Twitter says it will begin removing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations from its site. That includes false claims that the virus is not real, debunked claims about the effects of receiving the vaccine. It will also remove baseless claims suggesting immunizations and vaccines are used to intentionally cause harm or to control people. Twitter said in a blog post Wednesday that it will start enforcing the new policy next week. If people send tweets in violation of the rules, they will be required to delete them before they are able to tweet again. Before the offending tweet is removed, Twitter will hide it from view.
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No operational changes at Electric Boat, despite COVID-19 spike
The state of Rhode Island has imposed new restrictions on small businesses and restaurants to address the burgeoning caseloads of COVID-19. But it’s business as usual at Electric Boat’s Quonset Point shipyard, despite the fact that the number of EB employees infected with COVID-19 has skyrocketed in the last month and a half.
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Fish plant workers, for a second time, call on processors to fix unsafe COVID-19 practices
Seafood processing workers across the Southcoast are raising concerns for a second time this year about unsafe working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Posted inBusiness, En Español, Health, South Coast Bureau
Los trabajadores de la planta de pescado, por segunda vez, piden a los procesadores que solucionen las prácticas inseguras de COVID-19
Los trabajadores del procesamiento de productos del mar en toda la costa sur están expresando su preocupación por segunda vez este año sobre las condiciones de trabajo inseguras durante la pandemia de coronavirus.
Posted inArticle, Business
Google AI researcher’s exit sparks ethics, bias concerns
Artificial intelligence scholar Timnit Gebru helped improve Google’s public image as a company that elevates Black computer scientists and questions harmful uses of AI technology. But internally, Gebru, a leader in the field of AI ethics, was not shy about voicing doubts about those commitments. That’s until she was ousted this week in a dispute over a research paper examining the societal dangers of an emerging branch of AI. The furor over Gebru’s abrupt departure is the latest incident raising questions about whether Google has strayed so far away from its original “Don’t Be Evil” motto that it now routinely ousts employees who challenge management.
Posted inArticle, Business
RI businesses prepare for Black Friday shopping
Public health experts are encouraging families to stay home this holiday season, as the state tries to control the spread of COVID-19. But some Rhode Islanders will still line up to shop on Black Friday.
