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Trump’s Facebook Ban Upheld by Oversight Board

NBC News reported:

Facebook was justified in banning then-President Donald Trump from its platform the day after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, but it needs to reassess how long the ban will remain in effect, the social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board said Wednesday.

The decision to uphold the ban is a blow to Trump’s hopes to post again to Facebook or Instagram anytime soon, but it opens the door to him eventually returning to the platforms. Facebook must complete a review of the length of the suspension within six months, the board said.

Are College Vaccine Mandates Necessary or a Step Too Far?

Boston.com reported:

Last month, Northeastern University announced that it will return to life as usual in the fall with full-time, in-person learning so all students need to be fully vaccinated against the virus if they plan to return to campus in September. Since then Boston College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Emerson College, Boston University, and more have all followed suit. They say these requirements are necessary to keep the community, both on and off campus, safe.

Boston University is even taking steps to ensure that happens by offering several thousand doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to students, faculty, and staff who haven’t yet received their first shot. Northeastern has left room for medical and religious exemptions, but for everyone else the mandate is fairly straightforward: get the shot and provide the proof.

These Bracelets Help Restaurant Workers Show They Got Their COVID-19 Vaccine

CNN reported:

Most of the staff members at El Merkury sport a blue silicone bracelet with a QR code linking to proof of COVID-19 vaccination, according to CNN affiliate WPVI.

The owner of El Merkury, Sofia Deleon, told WPVI she made the move so customers would know it was safe to eat from her restaurant.

“It was really important for me to have everybody be vaccinated, to have everyone come back to work and feel safe,” Deleon said.

No Vaccine, No Desk: Firms Weigh Whether to Make Shots Mandatory

Crain’s New York Business reported:

Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Ritz Crackers and Trident gum, wants to start welcoming workers back to office this summer, though with a caveat — they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

It’s a thorny issue for many companies as some workers are hesitant about getting the shots, and Mondelez hasn’t finalized its plan. Yet for Chief Executive Officer Dirk Van De Put, vaccines are a way to ensure safety while restoring workplace culture and camaraderie.

“We want to create an environment where you feel comfortable and it’s like it used to be at the office,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview April 28. “We can only do that if everybody’s vaccinated.”

Body-Worn Video Technology Finds New Use Cases in the Private Sector

Security InfoWatch.com reported:

Municipal agencies are seeing body-worn devices work their way into fire departments, courthouses, and onto the uniforms of emergency medical technicians, while on the commercial side, BWC solutions have infiltrated manufacturing plants, retail stores, warehouse facilities, healthcare and school facilities.

The technology has even penetrated everything from private security officer companies to big-box retailers like Walmart, which issues proprietary body-worn cameras to monitor its In-Home delivery service team in at least three states around the country where drivers have access to private homes of absent owners to deliver perishable groceries directly inside waiting refrigerators.

Why Big Tech Wants (Some) Facial Recognition Rules

The Washington Post reported:

The world’s biggest technology companies can usually be counted on to oppose rules reining in new products, but some are making an exception for facial recognition software. The European Union and cities and states across the U.S. are taking up a wide range of ideas for restrictions or outright bans on this branch of the rapidly expanding field of artificial intelligence, including many that go further than the tech companies want. One question is whether regulation can protect innovation while preventing what Microsoft Corp. calls “a commercial race to the bottom.” Another is whose vision of privacy and security will prevail, as China pushes to export facial recognition systems capable of tracking citizens through much of their waking hours.