Surveillance Capitalism

UNESCO: Digital Voice Assistants Highlight Tech Bias Against Women

June 03, 2019

A recent publication from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) argues that the “gendered submissiveness and servility” of digital voice assistants with female voices illustrates bias in the tech industry and calls for, among other changes, discouragement by such “assistants” of “gender-based insults and abusive language.”
UN Body Updates Emissions Standards for Shipping Industry

June 03, 2019

At meetings in May, the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a series of measures aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of ships and reducing the maritime industry’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the UN’s Paris climate accord.
EU Council Agrees to Ban Some Plastics

June 03, 2019

The Council of the EU recently agreed to new rules banning, within two years, certain “single-use” plastic products for which alternatives are available and discouraging the use of other plastics through “national reduction” measures and labeling requirements.
WHO Wins Trans Fat Commitment from Trade Group

June 03, 2019

In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated a commitment from the International Food and Beverage Alliance trade association to adopt a WHO target to remove all industrially produced trans fat products from the world’s food supply by 2023.
Dutch Law Requires Corporate “Due Diligence” on Child Labor

June 03, 2019

The passage by the Dutch Parliament of a law imposing a duty of “due diligence” on corporations to address child labor in their global supply chains highlights the move by rights activists and governments away from voluntary corporate conduct standards and toward mandatory reporting and other requirements.
World Bank Launches $50 Million “Climate-Smart” Mining Fund

June 03, 2019

In May, the World Bank established a Climate-Smart Mining Facility trust fund seeking $50 million to promote a climate-friendly mining regulatory framework in developing countries and seek to ensure mining companies are “managed in a way that minimizes [their] environmental and climate footprint.”
Unilever Signs Deal with Unions Limiting Temporary Workers

May 31, 2019

Raising questions about the impacts of such global labor rights commitments on the workforce, consumer products company Unilever has signed an agreement with two global unions to restrict the use of temporary workers in its factories and to engage in “human rights due diligence.”
Investor Group Launches Initiative on Easing Green Finance

May 31, 2019

A group of European financial institutions is leading a new initiative of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change aiming to lay the groundwork for investors to align their portfolios with the goals of the UN’s Paris climate deal by divesting from fossil fuel projects.
Activists Criticize Microsoft’s Move to “Climate Leadership” Group

May 31, 2019

Environmental activists are criticizing tech giant Microsoft’s decision to join the international policy institute Climate Leadership Council due to the group’s advocacy of business legal immunity for contributions to climate change in exchange for support of a rising tax on carbon emissions.
Nestlé Shares How It Trains Employees in Human Rights

May 31, 2019

As part of the food and beverage company’s collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Nestlé has publicly shared its employee training on human rights issues for use by other companies.