Airbnb is banning under-25s from booking entire properties in the UK, France and Spain. The crackdown is an effort to prevent house parties, which skirt social distancing rules amid COVID-19.
In August 2020, Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) exams will be held remotely using facial recognition software. This technology aims to ensure fairness and prevent cheating, but its rate of algorithmic bias means it is likely to disadvantage Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students.
Innvotec, a fund manager, recently launched the Female Ventures Fund (FVF). FVF will invest in small-to-medium-sized businesses founded by women and provide financial support for the first 10-12 years of the company.
Major brands, such as CocaCola, Unilever, Starbucks and Verizon have joined together to boycott advertising on Facebook, in a campaign labelled “Stop Hate for Profit”.
The American health product giant Johnson & Johnson has announced discontinuation of certain product lines sold only in Asia, advertised as dark-spot reducers, but commonly used by purchasers to lighten skin tone.
The conservative-dominated US Supreme Court has declared workplace discrimination of LGBTQ+ individuals illegal.
On Friday 12 June, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (“SDT”) fined Baker McKenzie’s former London managing partner £55,000 for serious professional misconduct, having attempted to hug and kiss a junior lawyer in 2012 and improperly influence the subsequent investigation. The ruling shines a light on the dark problem of sexual misconduct happening behind City law firm’s flashy office entrances.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, has stated that people protesting on the streets are at risk of on-the-spot fines of upwards of £100, or even a criminal record for defying social distancing regulations. The question arises as to how compatible this approach is with protestors’ human rights.
In a public letter to Congress on 8 June 2020, US tech company IBM announced it would no longer endorse the usage of facial recognition technology in law enforcement.
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of online discussion website Reddit, has announced his resignation from the company’s board, urging them to replace him with a black candidate.