Surveillance Capitalism

UK Lawmakers Seek Tax Incentives for “Sustainable” Fashion

February 22, 2019

The UK House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee has published a report calling on the British government to introduce tax penalties on fashion companies that fail to address the environmental impacts of their products, among several other social and environmental priorities.
Facebook Pledges Opening of Political Ads to External Analysis

February 22, 2019

Facebook has responded to pressure from campaign groups by promising to open its online platform to external analysis of the ways in which it allows users to target political advertising in the EU.
Dutch NGOs Threaten Climate Lawsuit Against Shell

February 22, 2019

Climate Liability News refers to a threat from Dutch NGOs to sue Shell over the company’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions if it refuses to adhere to the UN’s Paris climate accord as “a new legal front in the climate battle” in which NGOs demand compensation from large energy companies to address their alleged climate impacts.
NGO Demands Enforceable Labor Standards in Fashion Industry

February 22, 2019

The International Labor Rights Forum has published a report calling for the replacement of voluntary initiatives by businesses in the apparel industry on worker safety in their global supply chains with a “worker-centered, worker-driven,” enforceable model forcing clothing brands to adhere to global labor rights standards.
NGO Encourages Sovereign Bond Investor Activism in EU

February 20, 2019

The International Federation for Human Rights has published a ranking of the human rights performance of EU member states to encourage sovereign bond investors to take this performance into account and to influence EU governments to improve their respect for a broad range of human rights.
NGO Demands Rights-Based Approach to AI Regulation

February 20, 2019

Nongovernmental organization Article 19 has criticized a report of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for relying on voluntary corporate efforts to ensure the ethical future use of AI, calling instead for a regulatory approach requiring the performance of “human rights impact assessments.”
Review Shows Growing Activist Pressure on Corporate Governance

February 20, 2019

Lawyer Samantha Sarkozi cites a global study from shareholder services firm Kingsdale Advisors to argue that investors and shareholders are responding to pressure from activists and multilateral organizations pushing them to consider environmental and social issues in their investment decisions.
NGO Pushes for ILO Treaty on Rights of Women Workers

February 14, 2019

Aruna Kashyap of Human Rights Watch calls on apparel companies to support the development of a binding global treaty, to be administered by the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO), to tackle harassment of and violence against women in clothing supply chains.
Australian Court Rejects Coal Mine Due to Global Climate Agenda

February 14, 2019

Human Rights Watch has published an article celebrating the decision of a court in New South Wales in Australia rejecting an application by a company to mine coal because it would contribute to a rise in greenhouse gas emissions, characterizing the ruling as “the latest in a wave of litigation on climate change” around the world.
Cities Attempt to Keep “Climate Liability” Suits in State Court

February 14, 2019

Dana Drugmand writes that local officials and NGOs are attempting to keep lawsuits seeking compensation from fossil fuel companies over alleged costs of global warming in the California, as opposed to the US federal, court system, as federal law and precedent offer a slim chance of success in the legal action.