Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – September 26th

China bans all cryptocurrency transactions – 9/24

On Friday, the People’s Bank of China announced all cryptocurrency transactions are illegal. In a statement, the country’s regulator said: “Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities… it seriously endangers the safety of people’s assets.”

While the government banned cryptocurrency trading in China in 2019, the trades continued via foreign exchanges. The statement released by the People’s Bank of China declared foreign exchanges transactions also fall under illegal activities. Furthermore, all who participate in these cryptocurrency activities are committing a crime and will be prosecuted.

The move is the most recent effort by the Chinese government and regulators to clamp down on cryptocurrency activities. China is one of the largest cryptocurrency markets and the global hub of crypto mining. In May, the government vowed to crack down on cryptocurrency trading and mining. It banned financial institutions from conducting crypto-related business. Likewise, in June, the state regulator in Sichuan province ordered 26 suspected crypto mining projects to close. According to the data by the University of Cambridge, Sichuan province is the second-largest crypto-mining province in China.

California passes legislation targeting Amazon labor performance algorithm – 9/23

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newson signed a bill that targets performance quotas enforced by companies like Amazon. Companies enforce performance quotas on their workers and punish those who do not meet the metrics. While Amazon is unidentified in the bill, it is clear the company will be affected by the new legislation.

The bill is a response to the steep rate of injury suffered by the workers at Amazon warehouses. The workers are discouraged from taking breaks of any kind to comply with the performance quotas. Several news outlets reported on Amazon workers peeing in bottles to avoid taking a bathroom break to meet their warehouse fulfillment goals. In addition, the legislation requires the companies to disclose the performance quotas to workers and regulators.

Lorena Gonzalez, an Assemblywoman, tweeted: “The bill is the first attempt to create transparency and protections against unsafe algorithmic-enforced quota systems used by corporations like Amazon to push warehouse workers’ bodies to the breaking point.”

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO, to be released and allowed to return to China – 9/24

On Friday, the U.S. district judge in Brooklyn, New York, accepted the deferred prosecution agreement, and Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO, will be released and allowed to return to China.

Meng Wanzhou reached an agreement with the U.S. government by which she pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges. However, she affirmed the accuracy of the statement of facts. She also agreed not to commit any other crimes under the risk of prosecution. Nicole Boeckmann, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated Meng took “responsibility for her principal role in perpetrating a scheme to defraud a global financial institution.”

Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada in December of 2018. The U.S. government wanted to extradite her on wire and bank fraud charges. The claim presented by the U.S. government stated she misled a financial institution and violated American sanctions on Iran.

Meanwhile, following Meng’s arrest, Chinese authorities detained Michael Spavor (a Canadian businessman) and Michael Kovrig (a former Canadian diplomat). Beijing claimed the arrests have nothing to do with Meng’s case. On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement saying the two men were released and on their way back to Canada.

Facebook overpaid a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to protect Zuckerberg – 9/24

Shareholders’ lawsuit filed in Delaware and made public this week, revealed Facebook “overpaid” $4.9bn more than necessary to the Federal Trade Commission to protect Mark Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook for deceiving its users about the company’s ability to keep their information private. The fine was a result of a year-long investigation into the Cambridge Analytica data breach.

The suit states: “Zuckerberg, Sandberg, and other Facebook directors agreed to authorize a multibillion settlement with the FTC as an express quid pro quo to protect Zuckerberg from being named in the FTC’s complaint, made subject to personal liability, or even required to sit for a deposition.” Rohit Chopra, a commissioner on the FTC, is also quoted in the lawsuit as saying the government: “essentially traded getting more money, so that an individual did not have to submit to sworn testimony and I just think that’s fundamentally wrong.”

The suit alleges the company did not want Zuckerberg named in the complaint. It would mean substantial fines for any subsequent violations and would expose him to “extensive reputational harm.” Facebook declined to comment on the lawsuit.