Telemarketers in the U.S. are in the hot seat after a massive fine, that chatter about Starlink in Canada grows, and the U.S. National Labour Relations Board sides with Amazon workers.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday, March 19, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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The FCC has cracked down on Texas telemarketers, slapping them with the largest ever fine of $225 million for sending out 1 billion robocalls selling false health insurance. John Spiller and Jakob Mears will face the fine for massive spamming of spoofed robocalls across the U.S. in 2019. Spoofed calls have a fake caller ID that seems like it’s a call from a nearby location. The spammers would ask people if they are interested in health insurance from well-known insurance companies. The acting FCC Chairwoman says unwanted robocalls are not only a nuisance, but they also pose a serious risk to consumers who can share sensitive information for malicious schemes.
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Starlink satellite internet grants instant sign-up for eligible Canadians
Starlink internet service has arrived in rural Canada. One Canadian couple from Prince Edward County, in Ontario, recently shared their experience, telling local media this week that Starlink is a game-changer when it comes to upload bandwidth. They can actually create content and post it rather than just consume. Despite some upfront costs, the couple says it’s a reasonable trade-off with no confusing contracts. It’s month to month with no hassle and easy to cancel. They also said that they would prefer to use a Canadian internet service provider. It would inspire more Canadian innovation and competition in the telco space, and there is an audience waiting. Our very own ITWC CEO Jim Love, bought Starlink and recently wrote about his experience on ITWorldCanada.com. Installation is crazy simple and the dish and even the cords are plugged into the modem and router. He says he’s seen speeds vary at close to 100 Mbps, and average download speeds between 30 and 50 Mbps which is better than anything he has had in his rural home location of Haliburton, Ont.
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Amazon and US labour regulators are reportedly negotiating a settlement for Chicago warehouse employees who protested on Amazon’s COVID-19 safety standards. The Intercept reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have agreed with the complaint. The board can require Amazon to have “make-whole remedies” that will prevent future violations. Employees have asked Amazon to make it clear their rights will not be violated again. The report alleges that Amazon unlawfully retaliated against workers after a series of safety strikes last year where employees asked the company to cover COVID-19 medical costs and offer more transparency if a person on-site contracted the coronavirus.
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 inbox every day. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening!