Australia will soon have its first national, independent environment watchdog that can issue hundreds of millions in penalties to anyone breaching federal environmental law. Details about the much-anticipated Environment Protection Agency were revealed on Tuesday by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. The body will be given powers to issue Environment Protection Orders, also known as stop-work […]
This development follows intense industry pushback against the organization's strict guidelines aimed at preventing greenwashing.
The Dutch data protection authority Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens has urged the infrastructure ministry to take action about the growing number of traffic lights that have been fitted with software, allowing them to track road users. The traffic lights connect to the mobile phones of road users and follow them to gather information about traffic volume and speed. But the traffic lights also collect personal information about motorists, enabling them, for example, to follow a complete route...
Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) has urged vigilance amid a surge in doorstep scams, mis-sold services, and botched household repairs. The organisation has launched a 'Shut out Scammers' campaign with Police Scotland designed to raise awareness about the risks of accepting work offered by cold callers. Shocking examples include a couple who were charged £4,500 for a step and mono-blocking outside their home, only for it to begin crumbling within days. Another couple were conned out of £350 after...
The National Audit Office says a £35m pilot to test the expansion of free childcare in a few areas was cancelled.
No Evidence FBI Used Counterterrorism Tactics on Catholics: Government Watchdog Report Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), An independent governmental watchdog investigation concluded that there was no evidence to support that the FBI was targeting Catholics based on a leaked memo. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) presides over a hearing of the Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building...
(JNS) – The Combat Antisemitism Movement has condemned Meta’s Oversight Board’s recommendation to end its ban on the use of the Arabic word shaheed, or “martyr” in English, after a year-long review. Meta currently removes any posts using shaheed in reference to people appearing on the company’s list of “dangerous organizations and individuals,” which includes […]
The Dutch privacy watchdog AP on Friday said it was recommending that government organizations should stop using Facebook as long as it is unclear what happens with personal data of users of the government's Facebook pages. People that visit a government's page need to be able to trust that their personal and sensitive data is in safe hands, AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a statement. Junior minister for digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen said Facebook parent company Meta had to make...
A watchdog group is calling on the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for using video of House proceedings in the promotion of her election campaign. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust’s report highlighted four instances in which Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign social media account reposted videos of herself speaking on the […]
CMA points to "interconnected web" involving Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.
The NLRB general counsel has accused US’s largest corporations of creating distractions to cover their law-breakingThe US’s top labor lawyer has said her agency will not “succumb” to Amazon, Starbucks and SpaceX’s attempts to legally challenge the National Labor Relations Board and its ability to enforce federal labor law.Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel, accused some of the US’s largest corporations of “jumping on the bandwagon” in mounting legal challenges to the labor watchdog,...
Commissioner expresses grave concern after Rishi Sunak’s asylum policy passes parliamentary stagesThe Council of Europe’s human rights watchdog has condemned Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, saying it raises “major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law”.The body’s human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, said the bill, expected to be signed into law on Tuesday after passing its parliamentary stages on Monday night, was a grave concern and should not be used to...