New York
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New York City says it will reassess police use of facial recognition
The decision comes as cities across the US reevaluate the controversial technology.
New York State targets big tech with tougher antitrust bill
New York state's proposed bill would broaden the scope of what’s considered antitrust behavior, increase penalties and allow class action antitrust lawsuits.
New York lawmakers agree to pause use of facial recognition in schools
New York lawmakers have passed a moratorium that would ban the use of facial recognition in schools until 2022. If you’ll recall, Lockport started testing a facial and object recognition technology called "Aegis" in June 2019, and the district officially activated it in January this year. The bill mandating the moratorium still needs Governor Cuomo’s approval, but once it’s official, the New York education department will also be compelled to study and craft regulation around the technology’s use.
Demographic report on protests shows how much info our phones give away
Data analytics company Mobilewalla released a report detailing the race, age and gender breakdowns of individuals who participated in protests in select cities during the weekend of May 29th.
Sonos will lay off 12 percent of its workforce due to COVID-19
Sonos plans to eliminate 12 percent of its global headcount due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Book publishers sue Internet Archive for allegedly enabling piracy
Four major publishers filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive for alleged “willful mass copyright infringement" related to its Open Library.
Uber, Lyft drivers sue NY state to speed up unemployment benefits
Uber and Lyft drivers are suing the state of New York for not providing timely unemployment and pandemic benefits.
MTA spends $1 million to test disinfecting NYC subways with UV light
MTA invests $1 million in UV light devices to disinfect trains, subways and buses.
FDA clears Formlabs' 3D-printed BiPAP-to-ventilator converter
Formlabs received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA to 3D-print adapters that can turn sleep apnea machines into ventilators.
FCC rejects cities' extension request for comments on net neutrality rollback
The FCC has refused to grant an extension for comments on its plans for net neutrality rollback.
New York allows clerks to perform weddings by video conference
New York is dealing with the realities of COVID-19 by allowing clerks to perform weddings by video conference.
Google builds an unemployment application portal for New York
The state of New York has teamed up with Google to build an online portal for unemployment applications that’s much more reliable than the Department of Labor’s old one.
Headspace offers free mindfulness exercises to help with stress
The resources are available through a new website the company launched today in partnership with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (via The Verge).
New York finally legalizes e-bikes and e-scooters statewide
Delivery workers just won a battle they've been fighting for years.
NY court rules Postmates couriers are entitled to unemployment benefits
Gig economy workers in New York won a significant battle this week after the state's Court of Appeals ruled in their favor against Postmates. Supporting a previous state decision, the court said Postmates couriers should be considered employees for the purposes of unemployment insurance. Moving forward, the company must support its contractors by paying into New York's Unemployment Insurance Fund on their behalf.
New York orders Craigslist to remove ads for fake COVID-19 treatments
It's no secret that coronavirus-related scams are flourishing (the FCC put out a guide to avoiding them), and New York is now applying legal pressure to stop them. State Attorney General Letitia James has ordered Craigslist to "immediately remove" ads that either sell fake COVID-19 treatments or engage in price gouging on items like hand sanitizer. James also asked Craigslist to outline all its "proactive efforts" to spot and clamp down on these ads.
Amazon confirms the first known COVID-19 case in a US warehouse
Amazon temporarily closed a warehouse in Queens, New York, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. While two office workers at Amazon's Seattle headquarters have been diagnosed with COVID-19, this is the first confirmed case in a US warehouse, The Atlantic reports. This comes as Amazon is working to keep up with a "significant increase in demand" and hiring an additional 100,000 warehouse employees.
Tesla and Panasonic will no longer work together on solar cells
Panasonic will stop building solar cells at Tesla's New York Gigafactory 2 plant, the company revealed in a press release. That means Panasonic won't be working on Telsa's latest Solar Roof tiles, though it won't impact their Tesla EV battery partnership. Still, it's not a great sign for the two companies, especially considering that Tesla might start building its own EV batteries.
New York AG won't keep fighting T-Mobile merger with Sprint
Now that a federal judge has removed one of the few remaining obstacles to T-Mobile's merger with Sprint, resistance to the move appears to be fading. New York Attorney General Letitia James has signalled that the state won't appeal the ruling declaring the carrier merger lawful. Instead, New York will make the best of the merger if (and more likely when) it's finalized, including efforts to get the "best pricing and service possible," boost coverage and create jobs like those T-Mobile as promised for Rochester.
The Hayden Planetarium’s new show celebrates unmanned space probes
The astronomy I learned as a kid was pretty limited — the Earth revolves around the Sun and, of course, the whole "My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" thing. Of course, that expression no longer applies because our understanding of the solar system is a lot more nuanced these days. Not just because we're adults now, but because the entire field has been revolutionized by probes, plumbing the depths of distant bodies and returning that data to us over decades. That deeper understanding of our solar system is at the heart of the American Museum of Natural History's new space show, Worlds Beyond Earth, but its unsung hero is the technology that made it possible.