Two familiar companies are under investigation yet again. In Today’s Hashtag Trending, we talk about Ericsson paying $1 billion in corruption case, Google under investigation for allegedly unjust firings, and Microsoft scrapping its Wunderlist app.
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Thank you for tuning in, it’s Tuesday, December 11th, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Trending everywhere, telco equipment maker Ericsson has agreed to pay $1 billion in a U.S. corruption probe. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ericsson violated the Foreign Corruption Practices Act by making millions in improper payments, specifically in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait. Its scheme ran between 2000 and 2016, bribing government officials to win contracts with state-owned telecommunication companies. It also falsified money records to make these transactions appear legitimate. The fine ranks as one of the highest ever issued in similar cases.
Trending on Reddit, Google is under investigation for allegedly firing four employees over their participation in union activities. The investigation, which is expected to last three months, is initiated by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. In a statement, Google said that the four employees were fired over violating data security policies. Recently, Google has been accused of a number of alleged retaliation behaviour against employees who expressed their views on labour and human rights. In one instance, it even drew a rally of 200 Google employees.
Lastly, trending on Google, Microsoft will finally scrap Wunderlist, its mobile to-do app acquired in 2015, after years of service. Its spiritual replacement, To-Do, has actually existed alongside it since 2017. While it will no longer sync after May 6, 2020, Microsoft promises Wunderlist users that they’ll be able to export their content into To Do.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Tom Li, thanks for listening.