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Silicon Valley Tech Platforms Receive Failing Grades on Quarterly Censorship Report

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

According to a the most recent quarterly censorship report card from the Media Research Center (MRC), most of the major Silicon Valley tech titans are failing to protect freedom of expression.

“By almost any measure, the first three months of 2021 were the worst ever for online freedom. Amazon, Twitter, Apple, Google, Facebook, YouTube and others proved to the world that the Big Tech censorship of conservatives is a reality,” the group said. “And they did so in disturbing, authoritarian ways that highlight their unchecked power over information and our political process.”

Commentary: Amazon’s Rejection of Unions in Alabama Is a Big Loss for Big Labor

April 22, 2021April 21, 2021 RealClearWire

Big labor suffered a significant loss in its attempt to unionize employees at Amazon’s warehouse facility in Bessemer, Alabama. Of the workers eligible to vote, an embarrassingly small 16% voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It was the most recent in a series of high-profile losses for labor including failed attempts to unionize factories for Volkswagen, Nissan Motors, and Boeing. In each case, union leaders bet that they could convince workers it was in their best interests to be enrolled in a union that would stand up to management over wages and working conditions. In each case, they lost.

Amazon, Which Routinely Avoids Taxes, Supports Biden’s Corporate Tax Rate Hike

April 8, 2021April 7, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon endorsed President Joe Biden’s proposed higher corporate tax rate despite its history of routinely avoiding most or all of its federal tax obligations.

The massive online retailer supports President Joe Biden’s plan to pay for the $2 trillion infrastructure plan he unveiled last week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement Tuesday. Biden announced that the plan would raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.

Marco Rubio Endorses Amazon Workers Unionization, Tells Business Community to Stop Taking Republicans for Granted

March 16, 2021March 15, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio threw his weight of support behind the Amazon workers attempting to unionize at a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse.

Rubio endorsed the Bessemer warehouse workers’ effort to unionize in a USA Today editorial Friday morning, in which he sharply criticized Amazon. Rubio said the retail giant, which has fought hard against the unionization campaign, has waged a war against working-class values and has used anticompetitive strategies to harm small businesses.

Dr. Seuss Book Sales Skyrocket as Big Tech Companies Continue to Censor Author’s Works

March 8, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Following the announcement that six books by the world-renowned children’s author Dr. Seuss would be banned due to alleged “racist imagery,” sales of the author’s books have soared on various online retailers, even as other Big Tech companies attempt to further suppress such sales, as reported by Fox News.

Biden Endorses Historic Amazon Unionization Effort in Alabama

March 2, 2021March 1, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

President Joe Biden endorsed the ongoing effort to unionize the workforce at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, giving hope to labor leaders.

Biden tweeted his support for the effort on Sunday, nearly one month after the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse workers began voting in favor of or against unionizing. Biden said workers in Alabama, and nationwide, deserved the right to choose for themselves whether they wanted to join the union, but didn’t mention Amazon by name.

Big Tech Employees Donated More to Biden’s Campaign Than Any Other Sector

February 24, 2021February 23, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Employees at Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, donated at least $15.1 million to President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, according to Open Secrets.

The donations eclipsed the amount given from employees in the banking and legal sectors, according to The Wall Street Journal. The five companies were also the largest fundraising sources for Biden’s campaign.

Amazon Stops Selling Book Critical of Transgender Movement

February 24, 2021February 23, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon has removed from its cybershelves a book with “thoughtful answers to questions” about transgenderism—without informing the author and without explanation.

“When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” by Ryan T. Anderson, a former senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and now president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, contends that ideology is more of a factor than biology in American society’s acceptance of transgenderism.

New York Sues Amazon over Allegedly Jeopardizing Workers’ Safety

February 18, 2021February 17, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday night alleging that the online behemoth bypassed regulations meant to protect its workers from COVID-19.

The lawsuit claims that since the pandemic began in March the company refused to adopt legally required safety measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus in its two New York City facilities. It also alleges that Amazon did not adequately sanitize and close its facilities, adopt necessary social distancing measures or notify its employees of possible coronavirus exposures.

Amazon Loses Bid to Delay Unionization Vote at Its Alabama Warehouse

February 7, 2021February 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The National Labor Relations Board denied Amazon’s request to delay a unionization vote in its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse and ensure it’s conducted in-person.

In January, Amazon requested that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) delay the unionization election, arguing that the proposed mail-in ballot election would disenfranchise up to 1,700 workers. The Bessemer, Alabama warehouse’s nearly 5,800 total workers will begin voting in favor or against unionization on Monday.

Bezos to Step Down as Amazon CEO

February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon announced Tuesday that CEO Jeff Bezos is stepping down later this year and will become executive chair of the company.

Andy Jassy, who is the CEO of Amazon Web Services, will become Amazon’s new CEO when Bezos departs in the third quarter of this year from the CEO post.

Amazon Offers to Help Biden Administration with Vaccine Distribution, After Ignoring Trump Administration

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Big Tech giant Amazon has publicly offered to assist the new Biden Administration with efforts to distribute the coronavirus vaccine, after previously not making any such offers to the Trump Administration, as reported by the Daily Caller.

The offer was made in a letter to Joe Biden by Amazon vice president Dave Clark, who wrote that “Amazon stands ready to assist you in reaching your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration.” The letter continued, adding that “we are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts.”

Amazon, Walmart Saw Profits Surge in 2020 as Small Businesses Decimated by Pandemic

January 3, 2021January 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Globally dominant retailers Amazon and Walmart saw profits soar in 2020 on the strength of surging online sales amid a traditional retail environment decimated by COVID-19 closures and shoppers too nervous to venture out into brick-and-mortar establishments.

EU Files Antitrust Charges Against Amazon Over Use of Data

November 11, 2020November 10, 2020 The Associated Press

European Union regulators filed antitrust charges Tuesday against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using its access to data from companies that sell products on its platform to gain an unfair advantage over them.

The charges, filed two years after the bloc’s antitrust enforcer began looking into the company, are the latest effort by European regulators to curb the power of big technology companies. Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner in charge of competition issues, has slapped Google with antitrust fines totaling nearly $10 billion and opened twin antitrust investigations this summer into Apple. The EU’s executive Commission also opened a second investigation Tuesday into whether Amazon favors product offers and merchants that use its own logistics and delivery system.

Netflix Raising US Streaming Prices Amid Booming Growth

November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 The Associated Press

Netflix is raising most of its U.S. prices by 8% to 13% as its video streaming service rides a wave of rising popularity spurred by government-imposed lockdowns that corralled people at home during the fight against the pandemic.

The increases imposed Friday boost the cost of Netflix’s most popular U.S. streaming plan by $1 to $14 per month, while a premium plan that allows more people to watch the service on different screens simultaneously will now cost $2 more at $18 per month. Netflix’s basic U.S. plan remains at $9 per month. It marks Netflix’s first price changes in the U.S. since an increase rolled out early last year.

Over 19,000 Amazon Staff Members Likely Had COVID Between March and September

October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Nearly 20,000 Amazon staff members have either tested positive for the coronavirus or were presumed positive between March and September, the company announced Thursday.

Amazon said 19,816 staff members tested positive for the virus or were presumed positive, according to a company blog post.

Amazon to Kick Off Holiday Shopping with October Prime Day

September 29, 2020 The Associated Press

Amazon is aiming to kickstart the holiday shopping season early this year.

The company is holding its annual Prime Day over two days in October this year, after the pandemic forced it to postpone the sales event from July. It’s the first time Prime Day is being held in the fall, and Amazon is positioning it as a way to get people to start their holiday shopping.

Trump’s DOD Delivers Another Big Blow to Bezos, Gives $10 Billion Cloud Project to Microsoft Instead of Amazon

September 6, 2020September 5, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Pentagon reaffirmed its decision Friday to give a $10 billion cloud computing project to Microsoft instead of Amazon, marking the second time in one year that the Trump administration bypassed the online giant’s attempt to secure the program.

The Trump administration’s decision comes amid a legal battle Amazon Web Services initiated in 2019 after the Department of Defense (DOD) selected Microsoft in 2019 for the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud computing contract, media reports show. Amazon previously stated that President Donald Trump’s dislike of CEO Jeff Bezos contributed to the move.

Jeff Bezos’ Net Worth Reaches $200 Billion

August 31, 2020August 30, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, solidified his status as the world’s wealthiest man after his net worth reached the $200 billion mark, according to the Daily Caller.

Bezos reached the astounding milestone on Wednesday, with the Caller noting that he is not alone in expanding his wealth during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, which has significantly increased business for Amazon due to the rise in online shopping. Two other prominent CEOs who saw their net worths reach significant landmarks are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who both reached $100 billion.

Amazon to Add Thousands of Tech, Corporate Jobs in Six American Cities

August 19, 2020August 18, 2020 The Associated Press

Amazon plans to create 3,500 new tech and corporate jobs in six cities nationwide, the company announced Tuesday.

Most of the company’s new hires will be located in Amazon’s New York office with the rest being added in Dallas, Detroit, Denver, Phoenix and San Diego, according to a press release. Amazon also announced plans to expand the six offices to accommodate the new hires.

Commentary: Why Isn’t ‘Cancel Culture’ Canceling Corporations?

August 6, 2020August 5, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

If you haven’t gotten your fill of “cancel culture” yet, tell you what: I have over 80 companies you can cancel right now. Nike, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google among others should be facing the wrath of the social justice warriors, but I’ve barely heard a peep from them about these corporations.

Amazon Says Email to Employees Banning TikTok Was a Mistake

July 13, 2020July 12, 2020 The Associated Press

Roughly five hours after an internal email went out Friday to Amazon employees telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones, the online retailing giant appeared to backtrack, calling the ban a mistake.

“This morning’s email to some of our employees was sent in error,” Amazon emailed reporters just before 5 p.m. Eastern time. “There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok.”

Censorship, Antitrust Probes: Big Tech Is Back to Fighting Familiar Foes After Taking on Coronavirus

June 8, 2020June 7, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon, Twitter, and other major tech companies are facing intense criticism on antitrust issues and censorship claims in the months since government officials reportedly began asking for help from Silicon Valley on ways to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The president and lawmakers have turned their sights on Twitter and Amazon, respectively, while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other attorneys general are reportedly ratcheting up their antitrust investigation targeting Google’s business model. The White House asked them in March to fight coronavirus disinformation while also assisting the government in its virus response.

Conservatives Ask Amazon to End SPLC’s Role as ‘Hate Group Sheriff’

May 24, 2020May 23, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

A conservative free-market group hopes to convince Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, not to rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center as a gatekeeper for its philanthropic giving.

The scandal-plagued SPLC, a left-wing advocacy organization, routinely labels mainstream center-right organizations as “hate groups” on a list that includes actual hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis.

Bezos Could Become World’s First Trillionaire as Amazon Rakes in Cash During Pandemic, Research Shows

May 15, 2020May 14, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is expected to ride the wave of business his company is collecting during the coronavirus pandemic to become the world’s first trillionaire, research shows.

Bezos’s net worth has grown by 34% on average over the past half decade, which could make him a trillionaire, according to an analysis from Comparisun, a platform that helps companies create business management tools. Along with creating marketing tools, the company also conducts studies forecasting what will happen in the business sector, Comparisun’s website noted.

Sen Hawley Calls for a Criminal Probe into Amazon, Says Bezos’s Juggernaut Is an ‘Existential Threat’ to Small Businesses

April 29, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Sen. Josh Hawley wants a criminal antitrust investigation into Amazon after a recent report suggested the company’s employees are taking competitors’ data to develop similar products.

Commentary: Big Tech’s Toadying to Chinese Communists Demands Action

April 13, 2020April 12, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, China has become infamous for its role in allowing the virus to spread. From misleading the World Health Organization about the virus’s contagious elements, restricting the access of global investigators to infected sites, and lying about their infection numbers, China single-handedly stole months of preparation from other countries that have been savaged by the disease.

China has also hoarded masks and personal protective equipment from desperate countries and threatened to withhold critical medicines relied upon by millions of Americans.

Whole Foods Workers Call in Sick During National Crisis

April 1, 2020March 31, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Whole Foods workers across the country called in sick Tuesday as part of a national day of protest against the work conditions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Wages War on Price Gouging During Coronavirus Pandemic: ‘My Office and I Are Coming After You’

March 30, 2020March 29, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office received more than 500 complaints about price gouging in Minnesota last week alone.

The influx of complaints is part of Ellison’s effort to stop companies from hiking their prices on essential products during the coronavirus pandemic. Doing so is now illegal under an executive order issued by Gov. Tim Walz, which will remain in effect for the duration of Minnesota’s peacetime emergency.

Ellison’s office announced a statewide crackdown on businesses engaged in “pandemic profiteering” last week and encouraged Minnesotans to report instances of price gouging to his office.

Omar and Bernie Ask Bezos for Answers About Amazon’s Efforts to Slow COVID-19 Spread

March 28, 2020March 27, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) sent a letter Friday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking for “detailed information” about his plans to protect warehouse workers from the coronavirus.

Bernie and Omar Accuse Trump Admin of Ignoring ‘Workplace Protections’ at Amazon Facilities

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in accusing the Trump administration of failing to “hold Amazon accountable for endemic abuses at its warehouses.”

Important Chirstmas Shipping Deadlines

December 19, 2019December 18, 2019 Zachery Schmidt

Christmas season is in full swing as people try to buy and send presents to loved ones all over the country. Here are the deadlines for major shipping carriers.

The History of Cyber Monday

December 1, 2019November 30, 2019 Zachery Schmidt

The year is 2004, both Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman, who work for Shop.org, are conducting research when they happened to stumble upon key information that would, in turn, create a new annual online shopping tradition. Research showed them that the Monday after Thanksgiving was one of the biggest…

Commentary: Everything You’ve Heard About the Amazon Fires Is Wrong

August 27, 2019August 27, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

The international news coverage of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fires has been a complete disaster. News outlets published inaccurate yet easily verifiable “facts” about the number of fires, declaring the situation “record-breaking” and “unprecedented.” Social media lit up with misleading claims about the loss of planetary oxygen supply (20 percent, said French President Emmanuel Macron) threatening to asphyxiate us all. Stock photos and images of forest fires from the last two decades including Peru and Bolivia were shared widely and wildly. Celebrities and politicians alike heaped condemnation upon Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leading to an ongoing geopolitical crisis.

Commentary: ‘High-Skilled Immigrants Act’ Is a Sop to Big Tech

July 15, 2019July 14, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Rachael Brovard In a rare moment of bipartisanship last week, Democrats and Republicans joined hands to make a small, but fundamental change to our immigration system. Not to provide critically needed updates or wholesale reforms, but, rather, to toss a sop to the billionaires of Big Tech. Thanks…

Workers at the Shakopee Amazon Warehouse Center Will Protest on Prime Day

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 Zachery Schmidt

During Amazon Prime Day while people browse the internet searching for the best deals, some warehouse workers who handle these orders will be protesting. On July 15, more than 100 employees at the Shakopee, Minnesota Amazon fulfillment center will protest for better working conditions. The protest will last six…

Amazon Is Turning 25 – Here’s a Look Back at How It Changed the World

July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Venkatesh Shankar A quarter of a century ago, on July 5, 1994, a company, which shared a name with the world’s largest river, was incorporated. It sold books to customers who got to its website through a dial-up modem. It wasn’t the first bookstore to sell online. (Books.com…

Report: Trump’s DOJ Prepares an Antitrust Investigation into Google’s Business Practice

June 3, 2019June 2, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chris White The Department of Justice is preparing an antitrust probe against Google’s search engine and business model, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday night, citing people familiar with the issue. It would be the first such investigation since the Federal Trade Commission conducted a probe of Google…

Amazon to Employees: We’ll Pay You to Quit and Haul Packages

May 14, 2019May 13, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon, which is racing to deliver packages faster, is turning to its employees with a proposition: Quit your job and we’ll help you start a business delivering Amazon packages. The offer, announced Monday, comes as Amazon seeks to speed up its shipping time from two days to one for…

Robots Track, Fire Thousands of Amazon Employees Every Year, Report Suggests

April 28, 2019April 27, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Tim Pearce Amazon warehouse workers are monitored by tracking systems that measure each employee’s productivity, issue warnings for workers that lag and fire those consistently behind, according to documents obtained by The Verge. Amazon offers a base $15 an hour wage and its warehouses, called fulfillment centers, are…

After 10 Years, Amazon Is Pulling the Plug on Its Business Operations in China

April 23, 2019April 22, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Saibal Dasgupta Amazon says it is curtailing business operations in China, the world’s biggest retail market, after struggling against better entrenched local players for more than a decade. The company announced recently that as of July 18, it will no longer provide services through its Chinese website, Amazon.cn. The…

When Asked If They Identified as ‘American,’ Many US Corporations Stand Silent

April 9, 2019April 8, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Tim Pearce Ten international corporations contacted by The Daily Caller News Foundation got their start in the U.S. but stayed silent when asked if they saw themselves as “American” companies. Nine others responded to TheDCNF’s inquiry by either identifying with their American heritage, obscuring their loyalties or declining to comment…

Conservatives Call for Tech Giants to Split Ties with SPLC

April 8, 2019April 7, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jarrett Stepman Silicon Valley has enormous power over the flow of information that reaches people around the globe. That’s why it’s vital for Americans to understand how tech giants can manipulate information, either intentionally or unwittingly, to advance a political agenda. Now, 34 conservative leaders are banding together…

Amazon and Protesters Tell Two Different Stories of Latest Shakopee Protest

March 14, 2019December 3, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

A group of Somali workers at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Shakopee organized another walkout during an overnight shift Friday. In a Facebook post, the Awood Center, a local non-profit seeking to build “East African worker power,” said that a “majority of workers in the STOW department at Amazon’s MSP1 facility…

Elizabeth Warren Announces Plans to Break Up Facebook and Other Big Tech Firms

March 9, 2019March 8, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chris White Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a plan Friday to wallop big tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon as the Massachusetts Democrat works to differentiate herself among fellow presidential candidates. Her proposal would impose new rules on tech companies with $25 billion or more in annual ad…

Commentary: Democrats Move from Crony Capitalism to Class Warfare

February 19, 2019February 18, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by CHQ staff Nothing illustrates how far Left the Democratic Party has moved than the reaction of the Democrats’ most popular and media savvy politicians to the news that Amazon was abandoning plans to build part of its East Coast headquarters in the New York city of Long Island…

Gone in a New York Minute: How the Amazon Deal Fell Apart

February 18, 2019February 17, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

In early November, word began to leak that Amazon was serious about choosing New York to build a giant new campus. The city was eager to lure the company and its thousands of high-paying tech jobs, offering billions in tax incentives and lighting the Empire State Building in Amazon orange.…

Commentary: Amazon’s New York Reversal Shows Exactly Why Crony Capitalism Fails

February 15, 2019January 2, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Rachel Greszler Just months after announcing it would locate one of its headquarters in New York City, Amazon has announced that it’s pulling the plug on the Big Apple. Based on Amazon’s public statement, it seems the company couldn’t rely on the deals it had cut or the…

Commentary: Amazon’s New York Reversal Shows Exactly Why Crony Capitalism Fails

February 15, 2019January 2, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon May Bail on New York Headquarters After Locals Rail Against It

February 10, 2019February 9, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Tim Pearce Amazon is reportedly rethinking its promise to build a headquarters in New York City after receiving pushback from local officials and residents, sources told The Washington Post. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, are pushing for the Amazon…