Tag: Policy
Senate passes new $484 billion relief bill to replenish small business loans, fund hospitals and testing
A new federal aid package designed to provide economic businesses still immobilized by the coronavirus just passed in the Senate. The $484 billion in total aid passed after two weeks of negotiations between Republicans, who wanted to press additional small business funding forward without much reevaluation, and Democrats, who were…
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With the coronavirus, usually distinct conspiracy groups turn to a shared interest
The coronavirus pandemic’s global presence and ubiquity in everyday life is a perfect storm for misinformation, as conspiracy theorists from different corners of the web converge on a shared news topic—the only topic, at the moment. From the earliest days of the crisis, everyone from pro-Trump QAnon conspiracists to left-leaning…
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France’s Inria and Germany’s Fraunhofer detail their ROBERT contact-tracing protocol
Research institutes Inria and Fraunhofer have shared details on their contact-tracing protocol that could be used by the French and German governments in the coming weeks. It is named ROBERT for ROBust and privacy-presERving proximity Tracing protocol. Inria and Fraunhofer are members of the Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) project.…
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COVID-19 could have its own PATRIOT Act, but we need privacy guarantees
Heather Federman Contributor Heather Federman is a privacy lawyer and VP of Privacy and Policy at BigID, a New York-based company that uses AI to help organizations be better privacy stewards for their customers by accurately tracking personal data, governing access to sensitive information and complying with privacy regulations. Previously,…
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Pro-Iran accounts blamed the US for the coronavirus in latest social media disinformation campaign
As the coronavirus wreaks havoc on economies and populations around the globe, the chaos also presents a unique opportunity for disinformation efforts. According to a new report from social analytics company Graphika, which tracks online disinformation, Iran’s propaganda operations have turned to promote the country’s causes through the lens of…
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Small businesses are out of time, but COVID-19 aid comes with massive roadblocks
Lexi Reese Contributor Lexi Reese is the COO of Gusto, which provides payroll, benefits, compliance and HR to more than 100,000 small businesses across the U.S. She has spent her career advocating for small businesses at American Express, Google and Accion International. Just a few weeks ago, Seattle-based small business…
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