Surveillance Capitalism

EU Parliament Adopts Resolution on Indigenous Rights, Business Conduct

August 03, 2018

The Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization highlights its contribution to a resolution recently adopted by the European Parliament calling on EU bodies and EU member states to protect the rights of indigenous peoples across the globe through measures including considering indigenous rights impacts of trade deals and corporate liability for foreign conduct.
Lawyers Examine “Failure to Prevent” Offense for Rights Abuses

August 03, 2018

Claiming the idea that only states can violate human rights has become “obsolete” in an era of growing business power, Andrew Smith and Alice Lepeuple of the law firm Corker Binning examine the possible construction of a “failure to prevent” offense in the UK to prosecute companies associated with human rights abuses in other countries.
Ireland Advances Ban on Importation of Israeli Settlement Products

August 02, 2018

Amnesty International is applauding the advancement of Irish legislation that, according to the nongovernmental organization, puts the country in compliance with its international legal obligations by prohibiting the importation of goods made in Israeli settlements located in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Exxon Leaves ALEC After Clash over Climate Rules

August 02, 2018

The Hill reports that, following pressure from environmental activist groups and a clash over a proposed policy on federal greenhouse gas emissions regulations, energy giant Exxon Mobil has announced that it is following several other large US corporations in withdrawing from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Irish Legislation Requires National Fossil Fuel Divestment

August 01, 2018

The Guardian reports that, in line with the growing global movement for divestment from fossil fuels, the lower house of the Irish parliament has passed legislation requiring the country’s national investment fund to sell its investments in companies with substantial revenue from oil, gas, coal, and peat extraction or refinement “as soon as is practicable.”
Microsoft Chief Calls for Regulation of Facial Recognition Tech

July 31, 2018

Tech giant Microsoft’s President Brad Smith has called on Congress to appoint a bipartisan expert commission to issue recommendations on how best to regulate facial recognition technology, arguing that voluntary business conduct is no substitute for democratically accountable legislative action.
Sustainable Palm Oil Group Suspends Nestle

July 31, 2018

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an industry group that places pressure on businesses to meet a broad range of environmental and social criteria in their palm oil supply chains, has suspended food company Nestle from its ranks over its failure to report on its progress and to pay membership fees.
NGO Pushes for Western Courts to Pursue Alleged Shell Abuses

July 30, 2018

Charity Ryerson of the Corporate Accountability Lab reviews the history of litigation and other attempts to hold Dutch energy company Shell responsible for alleged environmental and human rights abuses in the Niger Delta and blames “individualistic” Western legal systems for failing to redress such abuses by companies in Africa.
Google Partners with UN on Monitoring SDG Progress

July 30, 2018

NDTV reports that tech giant Google has agreed with the UN Environmental Programme to develop a platform enabling the public, through satellite and other technology, to track government and industry progress toward achieving environmental targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sovereign Funds Push Companies to Consider Climate Risks

July 30, 2018

A group of six sovereign wealth funds, organized under an initiative established at the recent One Planet Summit in Paris, has announced that they will only invest in companies that consider risks related to climate change in their long-term strategies and account for the need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to fulfill the UN’s Paris climate deal.