Salesforce Data Breach Suit Cites California Privacy Law
February 4, 2020. Daniel Stoller, Bloomberg Law – Salesforce.com Inc. and a children’s clothing company face data-breach allegations in a federal court lawsuit that is among the first to cite California’s landmark privacy law since it took effect Jan. 1. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/salesforce-data-breach-suit-cites-california-privacy-law
Forced Arbitration: A Clause for Concern
By Scott Medintz, Consumer Reports Jan. 30, 2020 – Mandatory arbitration deprives consumers of important options if a product is faulty or harmful. https://www.consumerreports.org/mandatory-binding-arbitration/forced-arbitration-clause-for-concern/
The gap between rich and poor is especially wide in California.
January 2020 PPIC.org – While California’s economy outperforms the nation’s, its level of income inequality exceeds that of all but five states. https://www.ppic.org/publication/income-inequality-in-california/?utm_source=ppic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bulletin
The Evil List. Which tech companies are really doing the most harm?
Slate.com Jan. 15, 2020 Slate.com Jan. 15, 2020 – Maybe it was fake news, Russian trolls, and Cambridge Analytica. Or Travis Kalanick’s conniption in an Uber. Or the unmasking of Theranos. Or all those Twitter Nazis, and racist Google results, and conspiracy theories on YouTube. https://slate.com/technology/2020/01/evil-list-tech-companies-dangerous-amazon-facebook-google-palantir.html?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits
How secrecy in U.S. courts hobbles the regulators meant to protect the public
Mike Spector, Jaimi Dowdell and Benjamin Lesser. Reuters, Jan 16,2020 Something wasn’t right with the Rhino. Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co off-road vehicles when they tipped over. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-regulators/
NHTSA May Recall Every Tesla Ever Made Over Sudden Unintended Acceleration Complaint
Steve Hanley, Cleantechnica Jan. 18, 2020 – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it is reviewing a petition that claims every Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 sold in America since 2012 is defective and should be recalled. Why?https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/18/nhtsa-may-recall-every-tesla-ever-made-over-sudden-unintended-acceleration-complaint/
German prosecutors file charges against 6 VW employees over dieselgate
Reuters, January 14, 2020 – Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany on Tuesday filed charges against six Volkswagen employees for their role in helping the carmaker put heavily polluting diesel cars on German roads. https://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-charges-idUSFWN29J0FD
Trump renews attack on lightbulbs and goes after dishwashers, fridges, toilets and showers
By Andy Gregory, The Independent, January 15, 2020 Donald Trump has revisited his vendetta against energy-saving lightbulbs, ascribing them the blame for his orange hue while extending the focus of his ire to include showers, dishwashers and toilets in a wide-ranging rally speech in Milwaukee. https://news.yahoo.com/trump-renews-attack-lightbulbs-goes-113230094.html
For-profit colleges masquerade as “non-profit” or “public” institutions
AB 70 (Berman) would stop for-profit Grand Canyon University and Purdue Universal Global from misleading students. A coalition of fifteen consumer and student advocacy groups is urging the California State Assembly to stop a new trend among for-profit college corporations. AB 70 (Berman) would stop for-profit Grand … Read More ›
Boeing employee said 737 Max ‘is designed by clowns’ and ‘supervised by monkeys’
Mike Murphy, Marketwatch. January 11, 2020. Newly released internal emails from Boeing Co. paint a disturbing picture of its 737 Max program, with employees bragging about fooling FAA regulators and ridiculing its safety. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-emails-show-workers-mocking-faa-ridiculing-737-maxs-safety-2020-01-09
Electric scooter injuries rising, one-third involve the head
Linda Carroll, Reuters January 10, 2020. Injuries and hospital admissions involving sharable two-wheeled electric scooters are on the rise in the U.S., a new study finds. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-scooters-injuries/electric-scooter-injuries-rising-one-third-involve-the-head-idUSKBN1Z92EA
Takata airbag recall rears its ugly head again, this time for 10M cars
By Kyle Hyatt/cnet.com January 8, 2020 – The Takata airbag recall has been going on for seven years, and just when we thought it was pretty much taken care of, there’s a new round of recalls for 10 million vehicles — and here’s the kicker: they had … Read More ›
UCSF Study: Juul Delivers More Nicotine To Blood Than Cigarettes, Other E-Cigs
CBS – SF January 6, 2020. As Bay Area-based Juul Labs faces increased scrutiny, a new study finds the company’s products delivers significantly more nicotine to the blood per puff than other e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/01/06/ucsf-juul-nicotine-vs-cigarettes-e-cigs-study/