Amazon says no to a Pickering warehouse opening while appealing orders to close a Brampton location due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and Google is accused of tracking users in ‘Incognito’ mode
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Monday, March 15, and I’m your host Alex Coop.
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CBC is reporting that Amazon has decided to not put the largest retail warehouse in Canada on a protected wetland site in Pickering. The deadline for the Toronto Region Conservation Authority to grant permission to the property owner, the Triple Group of Companies, to begin destroying the wetland was Friday. It is not yet clear how Amazon’s withdrawal from the proposal will affect the developer’s plans to build on the wetland. Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan issued a statement saying he’s “truly disappointed for Pickering and its residents,” adding the city has lost a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to bring 2,000 jobs and an influx of revenue from development charges and taxes. An Amazon official told CBC that the company is exploring other locations for its expansion and never signed a lease commitment for the Pickering property that’s just off Highway 401, east of Brock Road.
Peel Public Health is ordering an Amazon facility in Brampton to close because of an ongoing to COVID-19 outbreak. Dr. Lawrence Loh, the medical officer of health for Peel Region, told CBC that there have been more than 600 cases in total, with 240 identified in recent weeks, reflecting “significant” growth. The order requires everyone at the facility to self-isolate for two weeks, effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday. An Amazon spokesperson said the company will appeal the decision.
And lastly, a U.S. judge has slapped Google with a class-action lawsuit seeking $5 billion that claimed the tech giant is tracking and collecting data even when people are using ‘Incognito’ mode on Chrome, Safari and other browsers. Bloomberg is reporting that District Judge Lucy Koh in the state of California ruled that Google “did not notify users that Google engages in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode.” On its part, Google has already announced to phase out third-party cookies from Chrome browser. The company said earlier this month that once third-party cookies are phased out from its platforms, it will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will it use them in its products.
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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. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your mailbox every day. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening!