Workers demand Google expand abortion protections post-Roe

In a petition circulated by the Alphabet Workers Union and shared with The Technology 202, more than 650 workers demand that the company create a task force to implement a series of policy and product changes aimed at addressing abortion-related risks. .

The move marks the first major organizing campaign at Google in response to the Supreme Court’s decision revoking abortion rights, which caused backlash among workers in Silicon Valley.

“For us this is a fundamental crisis that needs to be addressed immediately and swiftly and not just put on the back burner,” he said. Alejandra Beattya major organizer of the petition.

After the June ruling, Google reiterated in a memo to staff that its benefits package allows employees to travel overseas for medical procedures not available to them, including abortions, and that they can apply for permanent relocation “without justification”.

But union leaders say it crucially leaves out contractors and temporary workers who aren’t offered the same benefits — many of whom live in states that crack down on abortions.

“I have other colleagues, several thousand in Texas, who have not been given travel reimbursement, and they are actually the people who need it,” said Beatty, who heads the union’s Southwest chapter.

Google declined to comment. Organizers said company executives have not yet responded to the petition.

Google is the latest tech company to face growing calls for action from its workforce amid a nationwide crackdown on abortion.

More than 1,600 Amazon employees signed an earlier petition demanding that the company denounce the reversal of deer, stop donating to politicians who oppose abortion, sponsor abortion rights protests, and expand travel benefits for workers. The company did not return a request for comment at the time. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Workers at gaming giant Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft announced plans to buy, protested in July to demand that the company offer greater protections regarding abortions. They called for workers living in “locations that enact discriminatory legislation,” such as anti-abortion laws, to be offered relocation assistance, as my colleague Shannon Liao reported.

The new petition demands that Google protect users “from having their data used against them and addressing misinformation and misleading information.” including removing fake abortion clinic results and increasing health-related privacy controls.

Google said in July that it would begin deleting location history for users “soon” after they visit abortion clinics and other sensitive locations. Democrats have called on companies to limit their collection of sensitive information amid fears that states will use the data to prosecute abortions.

Beatty called the announcement a “good start.” But the petition calls for more comprehensive action, stating that “abortion access information on Google should never be stored, turned over to law enforcement, or treated as a crime.”

Google employees are also asking the giant to reduce its political contributions, particularly to officials “responsible for appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and continue to violate other human rights issues.”

The petition broadly highlights “corporate influence” in government and the company’s role in lobbying public officials through the PAC and network of advocacy groups.

At the very least, Beatty said, Google should not “fund those who are attacking reproductive rights.” The letter does not specify groups or individual examples. But it could put pressure on the tech giant to stop donating to a host of conservative groups.

According to a May analysis by the left-leaning news site Popular Information, “Google has donated $525,702 to anti-abortion political groups since 2016,” including $225,702 to the Republican Governors Association, $195,000 to the State Leadership Committee Republicans and $105,000 to the Republican National Committee. .

FTC threatened to sue adtech firm disclosing sensitive medical visits, company says

“The agency’s proposed complaint, against Idaho-based Kochava, argues that the company violates laws prohibiting ‘unfair or deceptive practices’ by allowing its customers to license data collected from mobile devices that can identify people and track their visits to health care providers.” Zakrzewski the cat reports.

The action follows the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. It also comes as privacy advocates warn that people’s digital footprints could be used as evidence that they have committed a crime.

Kochava, who said she received a proposed complaint from the FTC “in or around July and August,” criticized the move. “This is a manipulative attempt by the FTC to give the appearance that it is protecting consumer privacy despite being based on completely false claims.” Brian Cox, general manager of Kochava Collective, the company’s data marketplace, said in a statement to The Post. The FTC declined to comment.

TikTok says it will emphasize banning paid political influencers before the midterms

The company plans to release new materials explaining its ban on paid political work with influencers to firms and content creators, The Verge’s Makena Kelly reports. The company also plans to promote authoritative election information and results, TikTok said. It’s the latest announcement from a major social media platform ahead of November’s midterm elections.

“Last week, Twitter said it would bring its own tools to remove false and fraudulent election information,” Makena writes. “Google reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission last week to launch a new program that allows candidates and political groups to bypass Gmail’s spam filters, ensuring their fundraising messages reach voter inboxes. In a blog post on Tuesday, Facebook’s parent company Meta said its mid-term approach would be “consistent with the policies and safeguards” the platform created during the 2020 presidential election.

Australian court rules for Google in defamation case

Australia’s High Court says Google isn’t liable for defamatory links appearing in search results, Wall Street Journal Mike Cherney reports. It’s a victory for the tech giant in Australia, where policymakers have sought to increase pressure on tech companies over defamation.

“Several previous Australian court decisions have found social media and news organizations liable for the content on their platforms,” ​​Cherney writes. “In June, a lower court judge ordered Google to pay approximately $515,000 for videos posted on its YouTube platform that were found to be defamatory. Last year, the high court ruled that newspapers and television stations are liable for user comments on articles the newspapers and stations post on Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook service. – a decision that some legal experts said could hamper the ability of media companies to promote important public interest journalism.”

Google and George DefterosThe lawyer who argued that the company should be considered a publisher of defamatory content did not respond to The Wall Street Journal’s requests for comment.

Amazon is testing a “food” feature on its app that’s similar to TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported Sebastian Herrera reports. Photo editor Cameron Pollack:

Amazon tests TikTok-like in-app feed (Wall Street Journal)

An ‘absurdly high’ number of employees are leaving Twitter after losing faith in leadership (Insider)

Github employees upset that firm is willing to ‘sell our users’ on Facebook with privacy update (Insider)

Trump ordered visa checks on social media. Biden is defending him. (Protocol)

Period-tracking apps won’t say whether they’ll hand over your data to the cops (Vice News)

Don’t let your kids test Tesla’s safety features, NHTSA warns (Bloomberg)

• SAP, Indeed and Mercari have joined TechNet as new members. TechNet now has 100 members.

that‘That’s all for today – thank you so much for joining us! Be sure to tell others to subscribe of technology 202 here. Get in touch with tips, comments or greetings I tweet or email.