More stories

  • in

    Amazon removes shirts with derogatory slogan about Kamala Harris

    Amazon has removed a clothing line emblazoned with an offensive slogan referring to Kamala Harris from its website after complaints from Twitter users who branded it “unacceptable”.The T-shirts, tank tops and hoodies which had the words “Joe and the hoe” written in red, white and blue in the style of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Harris’s campaign logo, were on sale for between $24.99 and $42.99.The derogatory phrase was also recently adopted by the conservative radio host and friend of Donald Trump Rush Limbaugh, who has a history of making abusive comments about the senator.The removal of the items followed pressure from Twitter users who urged people to complain to the retail giant.“Let @amazon know this is unacceptable,” wrote @LesaPamplin, a criminal defence attorney from Texas, with a screengrab of the clothing. “We are not sitting idly by and taking this bullshit.”An Amazon spokesperson said on Wednesday that the products had been removed, adding: “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account.”While the products appear to have been removed, the seller, “The Oxygen Bandit”, still seems to be active on the site with a range of politically themed garments including a “Byedon 2020” hoodie and “Kamala smelled best” and “I’m an AmeriKaren” T-shirts.Later on Wednesday Harris is due to make US history as the first woman of colour on a major party ticket when she accepts her party’s vice-president nomination at the Democratic national convention. More

  • in

    Who will choose the next US president – the American people, or Facebook? | Jonathan Freedland

    The social media titans are more powerful than politicians. But it doesn’t have to be this wayThis week, in a hearing on Capitol Hill, you could gaze upon the men with the power to determine November’s presidential election and the future of American democracy – but the men in question were not politicians. Rather they were the four tech titans who appeared by Zoom before a congressional committee. Even via video link, the power radiated from them: the heads of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple loomed from the monitors as veritable masters of the universe, their elected questioners mere earthlings.That hardly exaggerates their might. Between them, and with their users numbered in the billions, Facebook and Google determine much of what the human race sees, reads and knows. Mark Zuckerberg’s writ runs across the planet, no single government is able to constrain him: he is an emperor of knowledge, a minister of information for the entire world. A mere tweak of an algorithm by Facebook can decide whether lies, hate and conspiracy theories spread or shrivel. Continue reading… More

  • in

    'Too much power': key moments as tech CEOs face historic US hearing – video

    Play Video

    Top US tech bosses are told they are censoring political speech, spreading fake news and ‘killing’ the engines of the US economy in a combative and historic congressional hearing.
    Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, appeared before members of the house judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee and faced intense questioning on everything from market dominance and data surveillance to military contracts and political censorship.
    ‘Too much power’: Congress grills top tech CEOs in combative antitrust hearing

    Topics

    Amazon

    Apple

    Google

    Facebook

    US Congress

    Jeff Bezos

    Mark Zuckerberg More

  • in

    US lawmakers demand Jeff Bezos testify over Amazon’s 'possibly criminally false' statements

    House lawmakers said they could subpoena CEO to testify in antitrust investigation if he doesn’t appear voluntarily House lawmakers are asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP A bipartisan group of House lawmakers investigating Amazon for possible antitrust violations have […] More

  • in

    America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish | Robert Reich

    America’s billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish Robert Reich Well-publicized philanthropy shows how afraid the super-rich are of a larger social safety net – and higher taxes Jeff Bezos’s $100m donation, for example, amounts to about 11 days of his income. Photograph: Katherine Taylor/Reuters As millions of jobless Americans […] More