Articles by Diane Bartz and Paresh Dave

California Scrutinizing Amazon’s Treatment of Workers During Coronavirus Outbreak

California’s attorney general and state and local agencies are investigating whether Amazon.com Inc. has taken adequate steps to protect its workers from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a court filing on Monday. Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office, California’s Division of …

After Being Sued by Sonos, Google Sues Sonos Alleging Patent Infringement

Google filed a lawsuit accusing home speaker maker Sonos Inc. of infringing five of its patents, escalating tensions between the partners that have already led to a U.S. International Trade Commission probe. In a complaint filed on Thursday in San …

Zebra Technology Adds Social Distancing Alerts to Warehouse Workers’ Scanners

Zebra Technologies Corp., which sells barcode scanners and other computers used in warehouses globally, introduced a feature on Thursday that sounds an alert when workers breach physical distancing guidelines over the novel coronavirus. Warehouses and factories have been trying to …

Employers Hope to Limit Liability by Catching Social Distancing Scofflaws on Video

Stores and workplaces eager to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus are equipping existing security cameras with artificial intelligence software that can track compliance with health guidelines including social distancing and mask-wearing. Several companies told Reuters the software will be crucial …

Washington Governor Signs Facial Recognition Law Curbing Use

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed the first U.S. state law that sharply curbs law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology, while civil rights activists said the measure did not go far enough to protect marginalized groups. Facial recognition software …

California Probing Facebook, Says Social Media Company Stonewalling

California revealed for the first time an 18-month investigation into Facebook Inc.’s privacy practices and accused the social media giant on Wednesday of hampering the probe by failing to turn over emails from Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. The revelation is …

Google Parent Company Investigating How Sexual Misconduct Claims Were Handled

The board of Google parent company Alphabet Inc. is investigating executives’ handling of sexual harassment and other misconduct claims, and expects to complete its probe by early December, according to a recent court filing. CNBC first reported the investigation on …

Democrats Propose Ban on Mandatory Arbitration in Employment, Consumer Contracts

Six Google employees on Thursday joined U.S. lawmakers to support bills that would ban mandatory arbitration in employment and consumer contracts, as the workers seek to build on recent success in getting the Alphabet Inc company to drop some arbitration …

After 20K Employees Protest, Google Searches for New Harassment Policies

Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Thursday it would change the way it handles sexual harassment claims, a week after 20,000 of its workers around the world walked off their jobs to protest its response to such issues. Arbitration will become …

FBI, Global Regulators Investigating Facebook’s Largest-Ever Data Breach

Cyber attackers stole data from 29 million Facebook accounts using an automated program that moved from one friend to the next, Facebook Inc announced on Friday, as the social media company said its largest-ever data theft hit fewer than the …