TikTok Targeted by Advocacy Groups Over Children’s Privacy

Social-media powerhouse settled with FTC in 2019 over related concerns about users under 13

A group of consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint against TikTok with U.S. regulators Thursday, alleging that the social media giant is flouting child privacy laws and violating an earlier settlement by illegally collecting personal data from users under the age of 13.

They accused TikTok of violating the children's online privacy protection act, known as Coppa, by making it easy for children under 13 to join the app without their parents' permission. Also, according to the complaint, TikTok did not obtain parental consent to collect information about children, nor did it ask parents to review or delete the data it had collected. "We take privacy very seriously and are committed to helping ensure that TikTok continues to be a safe and entertaining community for our users," said a spokesman for TikTok, which is owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance Inc.

TikTok began asking users to enter their birth date when registering last year. Children under 13 will be directed to a restricted version of the app and will not be able to share their videos. For a child, however, it is easy to bypass the age-gate mechanism by simply entering a false birthday. TikTok will not seek parental consent at any time during the registration process.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-targeted-by-advocacy-groups-over-childrens-privacy-11589469011?mod=tech_lead_pos3

Nearly Three Million Sought Jobless Benefits Last Week

Over the past two months, three million or more workers a week have filed for unemployment benefits as the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to ripple through the U.S. economy.

Several states, including Utah, Texas and Indiana, have lifted some commercial restrictions imposed in the early days of the crisis to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Governors are seeking to increase testing capabilities and build contact tracking teams as they tend to loosen the lock. In recent weeks, new claims have begun to be settled in Georgia and Florida, after rising last week. But in several other states that have begun reopening, the number of people applying for benefits continues to fall.

In the week ending April 25, about 3.4 million Americans received unemployment benefits through the federal stimulus program, which allows independent contractors and self-employed people to claim benefits. Michigan accounts for a large portion of those claims, according to Thursday's report from the labor department.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemployment-benefits-weekly-jobless-claims-coronavirus-05-14-2020-11589410374?mod=hp_lead_pos1

As Coronavirus Cases Fall, Countries Struggle to Measure When It’s Safe to Reopen

In Europe, as the rate of new coronavirus infections slows, governments are reconsidering how best to measure disease progress and guide their decisions to ease their confinement. Germany, France, Spain, Italy and other hard-hit countries have seen new cases drop to about 1,000 a day and are starting to reopen their economies. Some scientists expect that number to stabilize around that level, allowing hospitals to cope with an influx of patients for the foreseeable future.

When the German states ordered a nationwide lockdown, chancellor Angela Merkel pointed to the remarkable reproduction figure, or R, which measures how many people on average are infected with the disease by a person infected with the coronavirus. As long as the R value remains above one (the average infected person will infect more than one), the disease will grow exponentially, threatening the ability of the country's health care system to cope with severe cases. However, if it falls below 1, it will fail.

R is calculated differently in different countries/regions. In Germany, it was established by dividing the number of infections in the first four days by the number of infections in the previous four days. The index was 0.81 on Wednesday, according to the Robert Koch Institute, which tracks the course of the pandemic in the country. The Italian government has been making regional and national estimates of R, and its stated goal is to keep the value of R below 1. French authorities downplay the total number of confirmed cases because testing focuses on people with symptoms, and France does not have the capacity to test large Numbers of asymptomatic people. Smaller countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have not yet used R for disease control, focusing instead on a number of daily indicators, such as the number of new infections, the occupation of intensive care units, deaths and hospitalizations. The UK has put R at the center of its relaxed locking strategy, but it also relies on monitoring the number of people infected.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-coronavirus-cases-fall-countries-struggle-to-measure-when-its-safe-to-reopen-11589403732?mod=hp_lead_pos9

Can You Get Covid-19 Twice?

The novel coronavirus was detected again for the second time last month after more than 160 South Koreans recovered from medical supervision. This is the possibility that we know but don't know that the virus got sick more than once. Most scientists say people with covid-19 have some immunity to the virus that causes it. They don't know whether to protect for a few months, a few years or a lifetime.

The immune system fights off infection by producing antibodies that resist the invader. A range of genetic and environmental factors, including diet and sleep patterns, often influence the strength and longevity of these defenses. Immunity also depends on the pathogen. For example, infection with the virus that causes measles can confer lifelong immunity.

Data are scarce, but preliminary studies suggest that antibodies can appear days or weeks after the onset of symptoms. A study of 34 hospitalized cases in China found that both patients developed antibodies within three days of the onset of symptoms in the 1980s. The rest developed two weeks after symptoms first appeared.

South Korean doctors involved in the government's ongoing review believe the patients may have low levels of the virus and failed diagnostic polymerase chain reaction or PCR tests. Later in the disease, the virus sinks into the lungs, making it undetectable. They say the virus has not been completely cleared from the body. When the symptoms disappear, fragments of the virus remain in the body, but that doesn't mean a person is contagious or that the disease will return.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-you-get-covid-19-twice-11589388593?mod=hp_lead_pos8

Airbnb to Cut 25% of Workforce as Coronavirus Stalls Global Travel

Airbnb is forecasting revenue this year at less than half 2019's level and cutting 1,900 employees and 'the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime.'

Airbnb is slashing about 1,900 jobs and is cutting investments in non-core operations. The coronavirus pandemic definitely is affecting business even as more people start traveling more. The Co-Founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky told employees on Tuesday via a memo, saying that the company's revenue forecast for this year is "less than half" of last years level. He added in the memo, "We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill." 

The pandemic has stopped global travel and has forced Airbnb to retrench. The company is also loosing investments in newer areas like its Transportation and Airbnb Studios initiatives. In another interview Mr. Chesky said he didn't plan to lay off salaried employees but said he needed to closely monitor cash reserves, business performance and the economic outlook daily. He also said nothing was off the table. 

Many hosts borrowed large sums of money to build small properties, which are largely dependent on the business Airbnb brings them. They were hit hard when Airbnb decided to grant guests full refunds for stays between March 14 and 31. The external market environment and the different factors in play definitely affected Airbnb in more ways than one and their recovery will depend on how well they position the company to deal with the aftermath of Covid-19. 

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-to-cut-25-of-workforce-as-coronavirus-stalls-global-travel-11588707183

Boeing Orders Slip Below 5,000 On MAX Cancellations

The aerospace giant scrubbed another 108 MAX jets from its backlog and downgraded the status of deals for another 101 planes

For the first time in seven years Boeing Co. have gone under 5,000 in customer orders and all due to the coronavirus pandemic outbreak which have taken a significant toll in the airline industry. Although, hopefully in the soon future airline services will be back and running there will a great change into the airline business for a long period of time. Maybe causing smaller airline companies to have to shut down or decrease their products. There will also be a lot of protocols being asserted that will assure the safety of the people wanting to travel. Boeing isn't the only company facing a crisis at this time as their rival Airbus SE is also facing challenges with financial crisis and both are predicted to face more cancelations. There has been an aid that airline will receive during this time because of the sudden drop in the economy. Even many airline companies that have contracts in place have been either cut or terminated for the time being because a lot of corporations have had to cut their expenses.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-orders-slip-below-5-000-on-max-cancellations-11589295600?mod=business_lead_pos4

Congress Weighs Coronavirus Aid for Local Newspapers, Broadcasters

House provision would allow currently ineligible local news outlets apply for PPP loans 

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) is working to get the Senate to consider a bill that would help some local media outlets get access to coronavirus-relief funds.

Many people and small business have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak by either having to get laid off and needing to find ways to make ends meet for any financial reasons. One of the under lying businesses that have been affected are TV,  Radio Stations, and Newspaper companies in which majority do not qualify to receive any aid in this time. Congresswoman Maria Cantwell and Amy Klobuchar are the first to bring up the issue and have tried to find ways to be able to provide aid for those in need. As said on the article the congresswoman say that they want to make a bill that doesn't send money to business that are too big and would set certain limitations to see which are eligible such as news publishers who have 1,000 or less workers. Although, subscriptions have risen that is not enough to overcome how much companies lose from advertising. 33,000 people have lost their employment by such hardship but people in congress have taken notice and will fight for those in need. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/congress-weighs-coronavirus-aid-for-local-newspapers-broadcasters-11589238146