Amazon announces unlimited sick days for its workers, Twitter asks its employees to work from home, and a new U.S. bill aimed at protecting children might actually cause serious harm to free speech online.
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All hourly workers at Amazon are getting unlimited sick days and up to two weeks of pay for those diagnosed with COVID-19, the company announced this week. The announcement has led to a lot of chatter on LinkedIn about the various actions taken by large companies as it relates to the spreading virus. The tech giant has also opened a $35 million relief fund for delivery drivers and seasonal workers.
Twitter is forcing its 4,900 employees to work from home from r/technology
The story continues with Twitter forcing its nearly 5,000 employees to work from home. In a blog post, Twitter CEO said the move is a “responsibility to support our communities, and those who are vulnerable.” The company has said that it will continue to pay contractors and hourly workers who are not able to perform their duties while working from home. Twitter joins Google, which made a similar announcement earlier this week that it’s asked the majority of its workforce to work from home as well. One Redditor described the scene in San Francisco, a massive tech hub that headquarters a lot of these tech giants, as a ghost town. Others pointed to a silver lining. Another Redditor wrote “Guys, if we play this right we could accelerate office work culture in a decade overnight.”
A sneaky attempt to end encryption is worming its way through Congress from r/technology
And lastly, some trending news that doesn’t involve COVID-19. A back-and-forth argument about the EARN IT Act in the U.S. has emerged on Reddit. The proposed law, which would enforce standards to protect children from sexual exploitation online. has been met with tons of criticism from security experts, many of them suggesting the bill would erode end-to-end encryption.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing.