San Mateo County Sheriff Carlos Bolanos announced Tuesday that effective immediately, his office will no longer respond to any requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for notification of the release or transfer of any inmate in its custody.
Bolaños said this decision helps fulfill his office's mission of protecting the safety of all San Mateo County residents, and is based on the trust and willingness of residents to cooperate with law enforcement, report crimes and testify in court.
On Wednesday, November 3, Bolaños and the Board of Supervisors heard from residents at the annual TRUTH Act Forum, a special meeting required when local law enforcement has granted access to ICE.
“It has become clear to me that complying with these requests related to the pending release of undocumented individuals who have committed serious crimes is undermining the trust we need to protect the community,” Bolaños said.
The sheriff stressed that it is “simply” not worth losing the trust of many members of the public by continuing to process these ICE requests.
“Our policy is now consistent with other Bay Area counties. This change was made after we heard from hundreds of residents who shared their perspective on how we will all be safer when the entire community understands that the Sheriff’s Office is here to protect the public, not enforce immigration laws,” he said.
Last year, this Office coordinated 15 transfers to ICE from the county jail. Most people convicted of serious crimes serve their sentences in state prison, not county jail. If ICE believes a person poses a serious threat, it can always obtain a court order, which all law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area must honor.
“This is a momentous and compassionate decision by our Sheriff to end cooperation with ICE. He listened to the community and values all of our residents regardless of immigration status. This is a policy change that will keep families whole and I applaud Sheriff Bolanos for taking this action,” said Board President David J. Canepa.
Supervisors Don Horsley and Carole Groom expressed similar sentiments.
“This decision is consistent with the sheriff’s personal values and deep-rooted commitment to serving and protecting all San Mateo County residents, regardless of immigration status. These values are reflected in his office’s long history of support and commitment to immigrant communities,” Horsley said.
“We thank the sheriff for working collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors and his swift implementation of this important change, which we support and believe is in the best interest of the county as a whole,” Groom said. “We thank the sheriff for listening to the public, taking their feedback seriously, and adopting a new policy.”
Sheriff Bolaños reiterated that he remains committed to public safety: “I will continually evaluate any effects caused by this change in policy and, if necessary, consider adjustments,” Bolaños reaffirmed.
Ante la proximidad del 26 de noviembre, tendencias en redes sociales convocan a huelga durante el Black Friday, con el propósito de evidenciar las crecientes inconformidades salariales y pocas compensaciones a los empleados en esta época.
El pasado 29 de octubre fue creado un grupo en Reddit en el que se convoca al paro de actividades durante el Black Friday, bajo la consigna de la brecha salarial existente entre trabajadores y altos cargos. Además, han creado una página en donde demuestran con gráficos las deficiencias salariales, así como el aumento de horas de trabajo y el decaimiento de su compensación.
“Los empleados se han vuelto cada vez más productivos, trabajando más horas, mientras que su remuneración se ha estancado. Un solo ingreso ya no puede mantener a un hogar; de hecho, debido a la inflación, nuestro poder adquisitivo disminuye día a día.” – blackfridayblackout.info
En su sitio web demuestran que mientras en el periodo de 1948 a 1979 la productividad y su compensación incrementaron en un 118.4 por ciento y en 107.5 por ciento, respectivamente, a partir del ‘79 y hasta el 2020 la productividad de los empleados creció un 61.8 por ciento mientras que las compensaciones tan solo incrementaron en un 17.5 por ciento.
Por su parte, usuarios de Twitter se han unido al movimiento bajo el #BlackFridayblackout en donde además de invitar a las personas a unirse, relatan sus experiencias al trabajar en diversas tiendas comerciales en esta fecha.
Entre los planteamientos para apoyar esta huelga se puede proponen “reportarse enfermo, no salir a comprar a tiendas comerciales ni hacerlo en línea y de ser necesario solo consumir en comercios locales.
Wirecutter journalists plan strike during Black Friday
Miembros de la unidad de Wirecutter, perteneciente al New York Times CO., que se encarga de analizar productos para los consumidores estadounidenses, planean llevar a cabo una huelga alrededor del Black Friday, una de las temporadas con más consumo de sus publicaciones.
Más del 90 por ciento de los miembros del sindicato acordaron autorizar el paro de labores, luego de que aseguraran que el aumento salarial anual que ofreció la firma, del 0.5 por ciento, está muy por debajo del 3 por ciento al que aspiran.
A través de la cuenta de Twitter, @wirecutterunion, los trabajadores dieron a conocer la situación que enfrentan con el New York Times, y aseguraron que su lucha por salarios dignos ha sido entorpecida por el medio desde hace dos años,
Además, por este mismo medio convocaron a lectores y seguidores a no comprar a través de New York Times durante el Black Friday y Cyber Monday a no ser que se llegue a un acuerdo antes de dichas fechas.
"Democracy is in jeopardy. Too many Americans don't recognize the urgency of the moment," said the interim president of the Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Wade Henderson, after the U.S. Senate failed to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican obstruction on Wednesday to debate the proposed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
In response to this, Henderson expressed regret during a session with the media held by Ethnic Media Services that the Lewis Act, which seeks to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was not approved.
He recalled that between January and September of this year, 19 states have enacted 33 new laws restricting the freedom to vote. "We must never forget that Republicans voted in favor of authorizing the Voting Rights Act, but 98 did not."
"This fight is about what is at stake for American values. And the component of not recognizing the fundamental premise of our Constitution that every voice and every vote must be counted. Now, the window is closing, but there is still time to act. I will be pushing each and every day to protect it," he said.
He acknowledged that "democracy faces unprecedented challenges in modern times."
Sean Morales Doyle, acting director of the Democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice, reaffirmed that democracy in the country is at a critical moment. “We are facing unprecedented attacks on our democracy. I think we have all seen that, as it came to fruition in a way that was terrifying on January 6 of this year.”
"We saw the threat to our democracy as a form of insurrection motivated by the big lie that our elections were rigged and that there was rampant misconduct," he explained.
In this regard, he pointed out that such behaviors fuel "this wave of restrictive laws."
Part of that, he explained, has been seen in the redistricting, where states have drawn maps that will dilute and weaken the power of communities of color at the ballot box.
While in some states the gap in turnout between voters of color and white voters has widened, rising to its highest levels in a quarter-century. “It’s expanding rapidly in some states. The impacts of all of these things are very real.”
This gap, he said, has widened despite record turnout at the polls in 2020, caused by the current political reality.
“We are facing this wave by combating these attacks with fewer tools available than we have in the past,” due to the 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder that weakened the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 to ensure that state and local governments do not pass laws or policies that deny Americans an equal right to vote based on race.
The expert stressed that there are federal courts that are often not friendly to the cause of voting rights, especially for people of color, and that "they are not a good place to fight this battle."
However, he said, the fight is not over. “We still have tools available to us. But we have fewer than we had right when we were faced with these unprecedented taxes. And that’s why I say we’re at a critical moment.”
In this regard, he explained that "all eyes are on Congress right now because we actually have two pieces of legislation that would help us overcome this movement that would take us in the right direction and that would give us the tools necessary to fight against these restrictive laws and attacks."
Those tools, he said, are the Freedom to Vote Act and the anti-African-American John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would set a floor for federal elections across the country.
For Jacqueline de León, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund, voting rights for the community she represents are no better off, as it is "unreasonably difficult to vote across reservations in the United States" because there are often no ballot boxes.
He explained that to access voting centers, natives often have to travel more than 100 miles on dirt roads, and because they have low resources, they lack access to vehicles to transport them.
He added that in Montana, after a lawsuit was settled in 2014, voter turnout increased from 30 to 70 percent. “Native people will vote if they are given a fair chance, but too often they are not given that chance.”
In addition, he said that homes on Native American reservations are not served. "They do not receive residential mail and the post offices are also far away and provide low-quality service.
"This makes registering to vote and voting by mail difficult and sometimes impossible. It's a situation that comes as a surprise to most Americans."
More surprising, she said, "is the overt racism that Native Americans continue to face when they try to vote," noting that there is a major problem with racism in border towns where Americans have to travel because they do not have polling stations on the reservation.
In the face of various acts of discrimination and even "gerrymandering" - a term referring to the manipulation of electoral districts in a territory, uniting, dividing or associating them, with the aim of producing a certain effect on the electoral results - he said, "we desperately need federal protections and reform of the right to vote in the Indian nation."
"We need these historic federal protections, just as urgently as we did in 1965, to protect us from states and counties that actively discriminate against Native Americans."
Laws like the John Lewis bill, he said, are critically important and must be passed to combat ongoing voter suppression.
John C. Yang, president and CEO of Asian American Advocates for Justice (AAJC), said the Voting Rights Act is of utmost importance to the community he represents, as it is the fastest-growing population in the country, increasing by more than 38 percent since the 2010 census, a situation that is also reflected at the polls.
He recalled that in the 2020 elections alone, there was an increase of more than 20 percent in voter participation, the largest increase compared to any other community compared to 2016.
“While we have seen this increase at the polls, we have also faced significant barriers to our ability to vote.”
But what does all this mean for Asian Americans when we're talking about voting rights? She asked, "It's not a partisan issue. For us, it's about making sure that every citizen who has the right to vote has the opportunity to do so in the most efficient and effective way."
She said the Asian American community is very diverse, and there are people of all political persuasions, “but we firmly believe that everyone’s voice matters and we must make sure that they have that ability to be heard. That is why any attempt to suppress those votes makes a difference for our community.”
A small plane made an emergency landing Sunday afternoon at a horse park in Woodside, firefighters said.
No se informaron de heridos después de que la aeronave aterrizara poco después del mediodía en un área abierta en The Horse Park, ubicado en el 3674 de Sandhill Road, según el Distrito de Protección contra Incendios de Woodside.
De acuerdo con las autoridades, el piloto informó a los bomberos que tenía que aterrizar debido a un mal funcionamiento de la línea de combustible, poco después del despegue en el aeropuerto de Palo Alto, a unas 7 millas de distancia.
This Saturday, November 6, COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 will begin at San Mateo vaccination clinics, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after concluding that it is safe and effective, and after the authorization of the federal process of the Western States Scientific Safety Review Working Group.
The pediatric vaccination clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 13; and from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10 through Friday, Nov. 12. The County plans to schedule additional pediatric vaccination clinics as demand warrants.
Superheroes and a red carpet will greet children this Saturday at the San Mateo County Events Center to help these little ones feel more comfortable receiving their vaccine against the disease that has infected more than 5 million children in the country.
Children ages 5 to 11 who come to the clinic will encounter a variety of colorful, age-appropriate themes, including Legoland, Candy Land, Superheroes and Roblox, Pac-Man, while bright walls and privacy barriers make the space more welcoming. Life-size televisions and chess games, as well as a Connect Four, will also help children feel comfortable while waiting for their vaccine and during the 15-minute observation period.
“Parents and children have been waiting a long time for their turn to get vaccinated and we want to give them a positive experience. Let’s face it, the last year and a half has been tough on all of us, and I would say especially our kids. We are excited to finally protect our kids and our community, so we decided to have a little fun. Plus, these kids are superheroes for doing their part and we want to celebrate them during their visit,” said County Manager Mike Callagy.
The clinic inside the Event Pavilion is for appointments only through MyTurn, and will be available starting this Thursday, November 4.
Those scheduling appointments will need to go to the Event Center at 1346 Saratoga Drive, San Mateo. Those driving to appointments will enter and exit through Gate 8 on Saratoga Drive and will be directed to park in a designated area.
A medical provider will be present at the children's clinic to answer parents' questions.
Adults and those 12 and older who also need a first, second or booster shot can also schedule appointments at a drive-thru clinic at the Event Center. Office hours and appointments are available on MyTurn.
Only children aged 5 to 11 can receive vaccines at the pediatric clinic
County leaders and health officials also want the community to remember that there are many options for accessing vaccines.
Pediatric vaccines will also be available through health care providers – Kaiser, Sutter, PAMF, Stanford – and local pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens. Additionally, County Health is partnering with the San Mateo County Office of Education and school districts to support school-based vaccination clinics during the week of November 15.
The County also appreciates the financial partnership for the pediatric clinic with Google, Kaiser and the San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA).
Samuel Cortés Hamdan. Península 360 Press /Global Exchange (@cilantrus)
[Gustavo Irías, director ejecutivo del Centro de Estudios para la Democracia (Cespad) de Honduras. Foto: Manuel Ortiz]
La elección presidencial de noviembre y el golpe de Estado de 2009
Honduras vive una crisis política desde hace doce años. Un escenario de autoritarismo y deterioro institucional derivado del golpe de Estado que dio fin al mandato de Manuel Zelaya en 2009.
A partir de entonces, el Partido Nacional, de derecha tradicional y fundado a principios del siglo XX, gobierna Honduras. El actual mandatario, Juan Orlando Hernández, sobre quien pesan acusaciones de vínculos con el narcotráfico, compite por la continuidad política a través de su candidato Nasry Asfura, aunque asegure en uno de sus principales eslóganes de campaña que su “proyecto es diferente.”
Aunado a la situación política y social, se vive en el país una crisis generalizada de derechos humanos, inseguridad, migración, desigualdad y desconfianza en la separación de poderes y en el gobierno de Hernández, circunstancias desafiantes que se suman a la trágica inestabilidad histórica de Centroamérica —derivada del colonialismo europeo— en correlación directa con la violencia, el autoritarismo, el pandillaje, el trasiego de drogas y la desigualdad fomentadas desde Washington como parte de sus estrategias geopolíticas para mantener el control en la región, y con consecuencias cotidianas hasta hoy.
En este contexto, las hondureñas y hondureños acudirán a las urnas este noviembre de 2021 no sólo para elegir presidente, sino también a renovar el Congreso y aportar veinte legisladores al Parlamento Centroamericano, además de escoger alcaldes, vicealcaldes y regidores.
“Difícil que no se repitan las conductas fraudulentas de la elección de 2017”: Centro de Estudios para la Democracia
A dos meses de las elecciones no hay certezas que garanticen la transparencia de los comicios y el respeto a la voluntad popular en la jornada del 28 de noviembre de 2021, estima en entrevista para Península 360, Gustavo Irías, director ejecutivo del Centro de Estudios para la Democracia (Cespad) de Honduras.
“El principal desafío está en asegurar que las elecciones se realicen bajo los estándares internacionales de la transparencia, la equidad y la competitividad, que precisamente es un atributo que en estos últimos tres procesos electorales postgolpe de Estado del 2009 no sólo no han estado presentes, sino que se han venido deteriorando y significan un claro retroceso en la limitada electoral de Honduras”, califica el analista.
The executive director of Cespad recognizes a general uncertainty, an extremely complex panorama.
“Hasta este momento todo apunta a que podríamos estar ante un proceso electoral descaradamente fraudulento como el de 2017. Aunque hay un pequeño espacio para evitar que este escenario pueda repetirse”, pondera.
A este escenario de crisis institucional y fractura histórica se suma la violencia actual en el proceso electoral, que ha producido al menos el asesinato de candidatos y enfrentamientos entre simpatizantes de los partidos en contienda, enumera Irías.
Alternation or continuity
La candidata del Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre), Xiomara Castro, destaca en la intención de votos a pocos puntos porcentuales debajo del oficialista Nasry Asfura, del Partido Nacional.
Estos dos aspirantes sintetizan, en términos generales, el panorama político de los comicios de noviembre: la abanderada de Libre milita en la organización política que lidera el desplazado Manuel Zelaya, mientras que el candidato del Partido Nacional supone la continuidad política del poder derivado del golpe de Estado.
El Partido Libre reivindica una orientación política desde la que acusa a la actual gestión de Honduras de ejercer una dictadura como heredera política del golpe de Estado de 2009, mientras que el abanderado del Partido Nacional finca parte de su discurso político en asegurar que es diferente a Hernández.
En tanto, Asfura asegura que “Papi es diferente” como una de las líneas centrales de su discurso proselitista.
Precariedad institucional, debilidad política
Más allá de las narrativas de los contendientes, el Centro de Estudios para la Democracia recuerda que Honduras acudirá a las urnas con un proceso sin concluir en la renovación de la tarjeta de identidad —sólo se ha cubierto alrededor del 70 por ciento—, sin acuerdos ni fortaleza técnica en el sistema de conteo preliminar para empezar a arrojar certezas en las primeras horas del cierre de urnas, y sin concertación sobre el procedimiento de voto con huella dactilar.
Estas iniciativas de modernización electoral han sido sistemáticamente bloqueadas por el Partido Nacional, con la participación cómplice del Congreso Nacional y del propio Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), acusa el titular del Cespad.
Ante todo esto, ¿podrán hondureñas y hondureños encontrar un camino democrático de salida a esta larga crisis política?
*Este artículo forma parte de un acuerdo de colaboración entre Península 360 Press y la organización internacional de derechos humanos Global Exchange. Sigue la cobertura de las elecciones en Honduras a través de nuestra página web y redes sociales.
De cara a una nueva redistritación en el condado de San Mateo, residentes interesados en la modificación de los distritos, podrán participar en una reunión virtual este miércoles 3 de noviembre para discutir tres mapas.
Así, el Comité Asesor de Redistribución de Distritos analizará los mapas preliminares, proporcionará detalles, y buscará la opinión de los interesados. ¡Únase a la conversación y opine qué mapa prefiere. O si gusta, puede enviar un mapa nuevo: todavía hay tiempo!
La cita es este miércoles a las 18:00 vía Zoom, y puede ingresar directamente a través del link https://redwoodcity.zoom.us/j/98707480568 with theID of: 987 0748 0568.
Si lo prefiere, también puede participar vía telefónica al número (669) 900-6833, con audio en inglés. Si prefiere en español, puede hacerlo llamando al (669) 900-6833, con el ID de reunión: 346830 8566 y el código de acceso: 1017.
Para revisar los borradores de mapas con más detalle y aprender más sobre todas las formas en que puede participar, puede visitar el sitio www.redwoodcity.org/redistricting.
Además, la Junta de Supervisores se reunirá también el martes 9 y el 16 de noviembre de 2021 para revisar las recomendaciones de la comisión y considerar testimonios y aportes públicos adicionales, y habrá más, según sea necesario. La ley requiere que la Junta adopte un mapa de final antes del 15 de diciembre de 2021.
Work to redraw supervisorial district boundaries takes place every 10 years, after the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated census information.
An advisory commission charged with studying boundary changes for San Mateo County's five supervisorial districts voted Thursday to send two proposed maps to the Board of Supervisors.
The two maps were selected from among approximately 30 maps considered by the 2021 Supervisorial District Lines Advisory Commission.
The Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday, November 9, to review the commission's recommendations and consider additional public testimony and input.
The Board will also hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 16, with more to follow as needed. The Board is required by law to adopt a final map by December 15, 2021.
Work to redraw supervisorial district boundaries takes place every 10 years, after the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated census information.
The Board of Supervisors, based on recommendations from local chapters of the League of Women Voters, appointed 15 volunteer commission members to participate in a months-long public process to gather public input.
So Thursday’s selection of two San Mateo draft maps to send to the Board of Supervisors came during the commission’s 10th meeting, with more than 200 comments submitted from the public — in person, online, through social media or by mail.
“What we’ve witnessed here in San Mateo County is the antidote to the idea that people aren’t interested in participating in local affairs,” said Commission Chairman Jim Lawrence of Foster City. “Quite the opposite. We’ve seen tremendous participation in this fundamental part of democracy.”
While all five districts must have substantially balanced populations, key requirements under state and federal law also include compliance with federal and state equal voting rights; drawing districts that are, to the extent possible, geographically contiguous; and keeping communities of interest intact as much as possible.
Also, keep cities intact, and have easily identifiable boundaries – major roads, railways, streets, rivers, mountains – as much as possible.
According to the 2020 census, each district should have around 153,083 people.
Draft maps for consideration
Following a five-hour public hearing, the advisory commission voted to send two draft maps to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.
The first is Unity Map, presented by a coalition led by Thrive, an alliance of local nonprofit agencies; while the second, called Commissioner Espinoza's MapThe meeting was presented by Advisory Commissioner Rudy Espinoza of Redwood City.
Scene on a street in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Elections in Honduras begin with high levels of violence. Photo: Manuel Ortiz Escámez
The countdown has begun. There are only a few days left until the most important elections for Honduras, which could mark a real step towards democracy. However, the process is marred by political violence and drug trafficking that have permeated the very heart of the contest.
There are candidates for elected office who have been denounced or arrested for alleged links to money laundering, in addition to cases of political violence that "are taking on more worrying nuances than those that occurred and were recorded months ago," according to a statement from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CESPAD) of Honduras.
He added that during this electoral contest, the country is facing a scenario of political violence that has left candidates for elected office murdered "with great cruelty," while some 300 candidates have given up seeking office, "due to death threats, harassment and persecution in their municipalities and departments."
The organization recalled that the recent raid on properties belonging to the mayor of the municipality of Talanga, department of Francisco Morazán, Roosevelt Eduardo Avilez López, by the Directorate for the Fight against Drug Trafficking (DLCN) for alleged money laundering, gives an account and puts back on the table the issue of narco-politics.
According to the investigator, Avilez was unable to justify more than 160 million lempiras (just over 6.5 million dollars) in relation to the amount he earns as income; while his wife, Nancy Mareyil Santos Ríos ‒also detained‒, was found to have another 150 million lempiras (6.1 million dollars) that could not be accredited either.
The Avilez case, CESPAD said, "is of great concern because it shows the limited capacity and willingness to act of the entities in charge of investigating this type of crime, taking into account that the Public Prosecutor's Office itself recognizes that this situation has been known since March 2013, that is, for 8 years."
The investigation into the crime of money laundering is also being carried out against the candidate for deputy Mauro Antonio Romero Carías, from the Liberal Party, and his wife, Angélica Roxana Girón Hernández, who, in addition, at the time of their capture, had more than one million lempiras (41 thousand dollars) seized from them, the origin of which could not be proven.
Violence, violence and more violence
Political violence in Honduras has never gone away and has gained strength over time and with electoral contests. An example of this was the murder by dismemberment and subsequent burning of the body of the former nationalist councilor of the municipality of San Luis, Santa Bárbara, Fredy Geovanny Velásquez, at the end of September.
Added to this are the murders of the candidate for mayor in Santa Ana de Yusguare, Choluteca, Nery Fernando Reyes, for the Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE), and that of the candidate for councilor of the municipality of Choloma, Cortés, Napoleón Muñoz, of the Patriotic Alliance.
These murders, CESPAD said, "raise the urgent need to strengthen the institutions in charge of investigating this type of crime in the context of the general elections, which are just around the corner, threatening the electoral process and voting day."
He also said that although there are other issues that make up the contextual framework of Honduras, "the concern about the institutional weakness in guaranteeing transparency in electoral financing is heightened."
Meanwhile, he said, "the threats, persecution and crimes against mayors, councillors and other political figures, in the absence of an investigation to clarify the origin of the violence, are taken for granted as a result of political action."
It is worth noting that in the general elections to be held on November 28, to which more than 5.1 million Hondurans are already called, three designated vice presidents will also be elected, as well as 298 municipal mayors, 128 deputies to the local Parliament and 20 to the Central American Parliament.
The new privacy measures will affect – with an estimated cost of 10 million dollars in losses – the main companies that offer entertainment services – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat – reported today. The Financial Times.
Apple has been beefing up privacy features across its ecosystem – the biggest being the iPhone and iPad. Now, in iOS 15, Apple will be testing a massive privacy barrier that protects its users from being tracked on the internet via a private cloud-based connection for users of an active iCloud+ plan – iCloud’s most premium service.
Apple will scrub the web of trackers and other malicious code before it ever touches the iPhone, resulting in near-instant loading times in a process that is transparent to the Safari user.
In addition, Apple, in less than a year, offered its users an update to the iOS and iPadOS operating systems with a new button to prevent users from being tracked without knowing it. It is speculated that the change of name to Meta on Facebook is also due to the fact that Facebook has a bad reputation, since its business is based, in large part, on the sale of user data, and with it, their activity on the Internet, which is used to create a profile of you based on the content you visit and offer you targeted advertising.
Advertising data company Lotame told The Financial Times that between the three companies, Facebook – now Meta – YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat lost a combined 12 per cent of their advertising revenue in Q3 and Q4 of 2021 as users opted not to allow tracking on their Apple devices.
This capability is found in the latest updates to their operating systems where the device forces the application to refrain from tracking the user, and simply asks the user if they want to disable tracking.
The advertising firm estimates that Snapchat lost a large portion of its advertising revenue, and Facebook suffered a hit to the way advertisers spend on Facebook ads.
Personally, I'm very strict about what goes into my phone, so these features are always on. This Friday, we'll look at how to configure the privacy settings on your iPhone and iPad.
