Surveillance Capitalism

Cassel Compiles Top Ten Global Business and Human Rights Developments

February 11, 2020

King & Spalding counsel Douglass Cassel has examined the top global trends in business and human rights cases in 2019.
Greenpeace Activists Block BP's London Headquarters

February 05, 2020

On the first day of Bernard Looney's tenure as BP's Chief Executive Officer, Greenpeace activists blocked the door to BP's London office, delivering 500 solar panels to the offices at 3 a.m., which authorities prevented them from installing.
Germany Possesses Evidence of Huawei Cooperation with Chinese Intelligence

January 29, 2020

According to a new report, the German government possesses evidence that Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei cooperated with Chinese intelligence, which supports U.S. government efforts to urge its allies to boycott the vendor over national security concerns.
Microsoft CEO Promotes “Data Dignity”

January 29, 2020

According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, “data, and privacy around data, is a human right that has to be protected” in a transparent manner, calling on businesses to place greater weight on what he called “data dignity.”
Gallagher: Spyware Business is Booming

January 29, 2020

The alleged theft of data from the iPhone X used by billionaire Jeff Bezos has cast an unflattering light on software developers specializing in digital surveillance, who offer tools that can be used to covertly infect targeted mobile phones and computers with spyware, which can record calls, harvest text messages, take photographs using the device’s inbuilt camera and record audio using its microphone.
Davos Attendees Discuss "Stakeholder Capitalism"

January 22, 2020

Business leaders and policy makers attending this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland are considering the implications of transitioning from a classical interpretation of the role of businesses to maximize shareholder value to the role of maximizing the outcomes for a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and communities.
BlackRock Signs Climate Change Pact

January 15, 2020

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with more than $6.8 trillion under its control, has become a signatory to Climate Action 100+, joining 370 other global investors in an initiative designed to encourage companies to take action on climate change by becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
WEF Publishes Survey Results Relating to Corporate Ethical Cultures

January 08, 2020

The World Economic Forum’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Steering Committee for the Responsible Use of Technology has published the results of a survey it conducted of businesses regarding what factors contribute to positive corporate ethical cultures.
Gorman: Rollout of 5G Cellular Networks Constitutes a "Geopolitical Turning Point"

January 08, 2020

According to Lindsay Gorman writing in The Atlantic, the West has ample reason for caution about Chinese 5G suppliers, including a recent Chinese National Intelligence Law requiring companies to comply with Communist Party demands to turn over data or otherwise engage in snooping or network-disruption activities.
Former Google Executive Criticizes Google's Human Rights Record

January 07, 2020

Ross LaJeunesse, the former head of global international relations at Google, has posted a strongly-worded blog post criticizing the company for its alleged neglect of human rights concerns.