A judge orders Uber and Lyft drivers to be reclassified as employees, British Court of Appeal rules that British police violated human rights using facial recognition technology, and Canadians are not yet convinced to return to the workplace.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, August 12, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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A California judge has ordered that Uber and Lyft reclassify their California drivers as employees. Ride-hailing companies and other gig economy jobs currently do not label their workers as employees because they can avoid paying for extra benefits and rights for employees. The new ruling will give companies 10 days to appeal before it goes into effect. Uber has said they plan to file an immediate appeal. Lyft has also said drivers do not want to be employees, full stop, saying “We’ll immediately appeal this ruling and continue to fight for their independence.”
Facial recognition has been used unlawfully and violated human rights, UK Court of Appeal rules in landmark case from r/technology
The British Court of Appeal has ruled in a landmark case that the British police force violated human rights by unlawfully using facial recognition technology. The country’s Court of Appeal reached an agreement that current policies fail to limit how police exercise their powers. Campaigners are calling for “sinister” facial recognition to be banned due to the ruling, but national police leaders say it does not prevent it from being used. Three judges agreed that South Wales Police had violated the right to privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights, data protection laws and duties to address racial or sex discrimination concerns.
Canadians are not convinced about returning to the workplace just yet, and many are citing a lack of safety protocols. Only a fifth of Canadians say they would willingly return to their physical workplace as soon as it is allowed, according to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence Index research:
- 63% cited exposure to others who aren’t taking enough precautions
- 39% were worried about working near other colleagues or customers
- 31% were worried about shared spaces, such as eating or resting areas
Professionals working in education, construction, entertainment and consumer goods industries were the most likely to return willingly to the physical workplace when allowed. While IT professionals, media, communications, finance and corporate services, are not ready just yet.
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 Baneet Braich, thanks for listening.