Dutch court rules that employees have the right to keep webcams turned off during work hours, Papa John’s receives a lawsuit for data collection on its website, and as many as one million Facebook users may have their account information stolen.
 |
 |
 |
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Tuesday, October 11, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
A Dutch court has ruled that demanding employees to turn on their webcams is a human rights violation. When a telemarketer refused to turn on his webcam for the entire workday, the company, Chetu, fired him for insubordination. But, as TechCrunch reported, labour laws work a bit differently in the Netherlands than it does in Florida, where the company was based. The employee sued the company for unfair dismissal, and the court ultimately ruled in his favour, ordering the company to pay $50,000 in back pay and unused vacation days. Chetu did not appear in court.
Source: TechCrunch
Pizza chain Papa John’s is being sued by a customer for the way it collects data from visitors on its website. The customer accused the company of employing session replay software that records a user’s activity on the site. In addition to collecting orders, the website would also track nuanced behaviours like mouse movements, clicks, and search terms. Session replay software is most commonly used to improve service, but the data must be safely stored to protect user privacy. The lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in California, wants either $10,000 or $100 per violation, whichever is greater.
Source: The Register
Meta is warning that as many as one million users may have had their account information stolen. Meta didn’t leak the data, but was instead stolen by malicious Android and Apple apps. According to CBS News, Meta researchers found more than 400 such apps. The company says it’s reaching out to those who may be at risk. In parallel, Google has removed these apps from the Play Store.
Source: CBS News
The iPhone 14’s advanced crash detection feature is causing an unintended problem: calling emergency services when taken on roller coaster rides. Designed to dial 911 automatically when it detects a crash by triangulating readings from several sensors, the feature can’t discern between an actual crash or a thrilling ride. The Wall Street Journal reported that first responders have been sent to amusement parks in error on several occasions. For example, the Kings Island amusement park received six emergency calls triggered by park rides. The Verge noted that users can leave their devices behind when going on a ride, leave them in airplane mode, or just disable the crash detection feature altogether.
Source: Wall Street Journal, The Verge
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 briefings 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. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Tom Li.