Europe is once again an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and Spain – under a state of emergency – has gone into another lockdown as protests continue. Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona in this report narrated by Roderick James.Camera: Alfonso Beato Producer: Roderick James
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The nation’s top technology leaders urged U.S. lawmakers Wednesday to keep content moderation protections in place, despite growing calls from Republicans to address perceived bias in the way social media companies handle free speech online. Online companies are shielded from liability for content on their sites under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. Those protections apply to companies of all sizes operating online that use third-party content. But some Republicans contend Section 230 is a “carve-out” for larger companies such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to censor content based on political viewpoints and use their considerable reach to influence public discourse. U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to Section 230 in a Tweet Wednesday, saying “The USA doesn’t have Freedom of the Press, we have Suppression of the Story, or just plain Fake News. So much has been learned in the last two weeks about how corrupt our Media is, and now Big Tech, maybe even worse. Repeal Section 230!” President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at MotorSports Management Company, in West Salem, Wis., Oct. 27, 2020.At issue is whether or not a company that moderates content is a publisher instead of a platform and if the reach of companies such Facebook, Google and Twitter constitutes a monopoly. “Companies are actively blocking and throttling the distribution of content on their own platforms and are using protections under Section 230 to do it. Is it any surprise that voices on the right are complaining about hypocrisy, or even worse?” Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker said Wednesday. Section 230 has received renewed attention during the 2020 presidential election cycle due to online companies’ new approaches to content moderation in response to foreign interference on online platforms during the 2016 elections cycle. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pushed back against that in prepared testimony Wednesday, saying, “We should remember that Section 230 has enabled new companies—small ones seeded with an idea—to build and compete with established companies globally. Eroding the foundation of Section 230 could collapse how we communicate on the Internet, leaving only a small number of giant and well-funded technology companies.” Dorsey told lawmakers one possible approach that is “within reach” would allow users to choose between Twitter’s own algorithm that determines what content is viewable, and algorithms developed by third parties.Wicker said his staff had collected “dozens and dozens” of examples of conservative content that he says has been censored and suppressed over the past four years by Twitter. He alleged the social media company had allowed Chinese Communist propaganda about COVID-19 to remain up for two months while President Donald Trump’s claims about mail-in ballots were immediately taken down. Earlier this month, Twitter blocked users from sharing a link to a news story on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Twitter also locked the accounts of President Trump and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for sharing the story, citing its policies for how hacked materials are shared on its website. Based on these actions, Republican Senator Ted Cruz accused Twitter of attempting to influence U.S. elections. “Your position is that that you can sit in Silicon Valley and demand of the media that you can tell them what stories they can publish; you can tell the American people what reporting they can hear,” Cruz said to Dorsey Wednesday. The Twitter CEO has apologized for the decision, tweeting, “Straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix. Our goal is to attempt to add context, and now we have capabilities to do that.” Facebook also restricted sharing of the Hunter Biden story, saying it would first need a third-party fact check. The social media company had allowed Russian disinformation to flood the site during the 2016 election, but Facebook instituted new policies this election cycle. According to its website, Facebook’s response includes the removal of 6.5 billion fake accounts in 2019, adding third-party factcheckers to go over content posted on the site as well as removing 30 networks engaged in coordinated, inauthentic behavior. “Without Section 230, platforms could potentially be held liable for everything people say. Platforms would likely censor more content to avoid legal risk and would be less likely to invest in technologies that enable people to express themselves in new ways,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers Wednesday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears on a screen as he speaks remotely during a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill, Oct. 28, 2020, in Washington.Congressional Democrats expressed concern about the growth of extremist groups online as well as continuing attempts at foreign election interference on social media platforms, questioning the timing of the hearing.“I am appalled that my Republican colleagues are holding this hearing literally days before an election, when they seem to want to bully and browbeat the platforms here to try to tilt toward President Trump’s favor. The timing seems inexplicable except to game the referee,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. “President Trump has broken all the norms. And he has put on your platforms, potentially dangerous and lethal misinformation and disinformation.” In an earlier line of questioning, Dorsey told lawmakers Twitter does not maintain lists of accounts to watch, but bases content moderation based on algorithms and service user requests. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google, also stated the company’s commitment toward independence, telling lawmakers, “We approach our work without political bias, full stop. To do otherwise would be contrary to both our business interests and our mission, which compels us to make information accessible to every type of person, no matter where they live or what they believe.”
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the EU’s administrative arm will spend $117 million on rapid COVID-19 tests as the virus surges across Europe.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Von der Leyen said unlike last spring, when the pandemic first began, every European country is feeling the effects of a second wave of the virus. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control says the virus continues to spread throughout the continent.
The agency reports almost 6.5 million people have contracted the virus in the EU member countries, plus Britain, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Von der Leyen says they are purchasing rapid antigen tests as another tool to help bring COVID-19 under control. The finger-prick antigen tests are not considered to be as reliable as the standard nasal-swab “PCR test,” but they work much more quickly, with results available at the testing point within 15 minutes.
European health experts say the virus is now moving too quickly to rely on tests that can take days.
Von der Leyen also urged member state leaders to improve information-sharing about the virus, saying that will help identify where extra intensive care unit capacity might be found and better organize cross-border patient care.
Von der Leyen also called on member states to begin preparing national vaccination plans, and to review them now at the EU level. She said they all need to be prepared for the arrival of the first vaccine, which in the best-case scenarios could begin arriving sometime in April in monthly 20 million to 50 million dose deliveries.
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At his weekly public audience Wednesday at the Vatican, Pope Francis kept his distance from the faithful, who had come to hear him, but once again appeared in public without a mask amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in Italy. The pope told his audience — which was much smaller than usual due to the surging infection rate — he would love to come down and greet them, but “this is contrary to the measures and the precautions we must take in order to face ‘Madame COVID.'” Francis went without a protective mask Wednesday even when he greeted a few mask-less bishops at the end of his audience. FILE – Pope Francis wears a face mask as he attends an inter-religious prayer service for peace in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a church on top of Rome’s Capitoline Hill, in Rome, Italy, Oct. 20, 2020.Francis has only been seen wearing a mask in public twice — on September 9 as he entered and exited his general audience, and last week during a two-hour interfaith prayer service in downtown Rome. Thirteen Swiss Guards and a resident of the guest house where the pope lives have recently tested positive for COVID-19. Vatican regulations require masks indoors and outdoors when social distancing cannot be guaranteed.
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Disinfecting public spaces is a major undertaking but it is essential for a safe return to normal activity. Now an army of robots that uses ultra-violet light to disinfect surfaces and the air, as Matt Dibble reports.
Camera, Producer: Matt Dibble
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The Los Angeles Dodgers won their first Major League Baseball World Series in more than three decades Tuesday night, shaking off a slow offensive start to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6. For five innings, the Rays appeared to be in control in their bid to force a deciding seventh game in the series with pitcher Blake Snell allowing just one hit and zero runs. But the Dodgers rallied in the sixth inning, scoring a run on a wild pitch by Rays reliever Nick Anderson and a second run on a fielder’s choice one batter later. Star outfielder Mookie Betts, who came to the Dodgers in an offseason trade, pushed the lead to 3-1 with a home run in the eighth inning. Tampa Bay’s only run came by way of a first-inning home run by Randy Arozarena, who emerged as a star during the postseason with nine total home runs. The Rays had more chances early in the game with multiple runners on base in the first two innings. But Dodgers pitchers were able to hold the Rays in check, striking out 16 total batters and allowing just two hits in the final eight innings.Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to win the baseball World Series in Game 6 Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Arlington, Texas.Reliever Julio Urías struck out Willy Adames to seal the victory for the Dodgers and send their players into a celebratory pile on the infield. Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after compiling a .471 batting average with two home runs and seven runs scored in the series. The championship is a culmination of years of recent success for Los Angeles, which has won more regular season games than any other team since the 2010 season but suffered repeated heartbreak in the playoffs. The Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series in seven games to the Houston Astros, and a year later fell in the World Series to the Boston Red Sox. Last season brought a first-round defeat at the hands of the eventual champion Washington Nationals. “This is our year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “We said it. This is our year.” All of the 2020 World Series games were played in Arlington, Texas, one of the effects the coronavirus pandemic had on the Major League Baseball season. The league postponed its usual start from the end of March to the end of July, with teams playing just 60 regular season games instead of 162. No fans were allowed into stadiums until the last two rounds, when only a limited number were able to see games in person. The schedule was further thrown into chaos with multiple teams experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. Tuesday night, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was removed in the eighth inning, and after the game it was announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. “It’s a bittersweet night for us. We’re glad to be done,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I do think it’s a great accomplishment for our players to get this season completed.”
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