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Adidas Cancels Ye and Ends a 10 Year Partnership
Adidas has cancelled its partnership with rap artist Ye formerly known as Kanye West, saying it couldn’t survive a growing backlash over the rapper’s racist and antisemitic remarks.
The breakup will leave Adidas looking for another transcendent personality to help it compete with ever-larger rival Nike, but it will certainly cost Ye, as the rapper is now known, even more. The footwear business is the latest to cut relations with Ye, whose music career has dwindled as he courted controversy.
Adidas estimated that the move to halt production of its Yeezy line and discontinue payments to Ye and his firms would cost them up to 250 million euros ($246 million) in net income this year. Its stock dropped more than 2% on Tuesday.
“Adidas does not allow antisemitism or any other type of hate speech,” a spokesperson said in a statement released Tuesday. “Ye’s recent words and actions are reprehensible, hostile, and dangerous, and they go against Adidas values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and justice.”
For weeks, Ye has made antisemitic remarks in interviews and on social media, including a tweet earlier this month declaring that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” a reference to the United States defence preparedness state scale known as DEFCON.
He was barred from using Twitter and Instagram.
Ye expressed regret in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that was broadcast online Monday, describing his initial tweet as a mistake and apologizing to “the Jewish community.” An email sent to a Ye spokesman was not immediately responded to.
Despite prior problems involving his comments about slavery and COVID-19 vaccines, Adidas has stood by Ye. However, Ye’s antisemitic remarks resurrected the company’s own ties to the Nazi system, which it had tried hard to break. During WWII, Adidas facilities “manufactured supplies and weaponry for the Nazi regime, using slave labour,” according to the World Jewish Congress.
Jewish organizations said the decision to eliminate Ye was long overdue.
“I would have liked a clear statement earlier from a German corporation that was also involved with the Nazi government,” said Josef Schuster, President and head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, the country’s main Jewish organization.
Adidas, whose CEO Kasper Rorsted is retiring next year, said it decided following a “thorough evaluation” of its association with Ye, whose talent agency, CAA, and fashion company Balenciaga had already dumped the rapper.
Some Adidas employees in the United States have expressed on social media the company’s silence in the hours leading up to the announcement. Despite the rising backlash, Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing firm Metaforce, feels Adidas’ delay was “understandable.”
“The benefits are enormous in terms of the demographic it appeals to — younger, urban, trendsetters, and the size of the business,” Adamson said. “I’m sure they hoped against hope that he’d apologize and try to make things right.”
According to Morningstar analyst David Swartz in a Tuesday report, the impact of Yeezy sales will be greater than projected because the brand has discontinued production of all Yeezy products and ceased royalty payments.
Swartz forecasts Adidas revenues of $23.2 billion euros ($23.1 billion) this year, with the Yeezy brand accounting for 1.5 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.99 billion), or roughly 10% of the total. According to Swartz, the expensive brand accounts for up to 15% of the company’s net income.
According to Forbes, Adidas accounted for $1.5 billion of Ye’s net worth, which will drop to $400 million without the transaction, which includes his music catalogue, real estate, cash, and a share in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm Skims.
Despite the rapper’s long-held belief that the magazine grossly undervalues his fortune, Forbes has announced that it will no longer include Ye on its list of billionaires.
In recent years, Ye has alienated even his most fervent followers. After the couple’s acrimonious divorce and disturbing posts about her subsequent connection with comedian Pete Davidson, everyone close to him, including Kardashian and her family, has stopped openly defending him.
Many Ye fans have been disappointed, according to Carl Lamarre, Billboard’s deputy director of R&B/Hip Hop, but the implosion of his commercial ventures has been painful to witness for those who appreciated the rapper’s ability to reach new heights of success outside of hip-hop.
“This is someone who might perhaps lay down the pattern for many next performers,” Lamarre added. “When you see someone graduate to his level of superstardom and transcend into business, into fashion, and touches that billionaire point, that’s tremendously aspirational for our community, for hip-hop, for African Americans.”
“But the same students, including myself, who were previously huge supporters, you want to defend him, but every day he gives you a reason not to,” Lamarre remarked.
The 24-time Grammy winner has been progressively losing his radio audience, and his streaming figures have also dropped marginally in the last month.
His airplay audience has dropped from 8 million in the week ending Sept. 22 to 5.4 million in the week ending Oct. 20, according to statistics provided by Luminate, an entertainment data and insights company whose data fuels the Billboard music charts.
During the same time period, the popularity of his tracks on streaming on-demand fell from 97 million to 88.2 million, a 9% decrease.
Since 2016, when Ye was hospitalized in Los Angeles for what his team described as stress and tiredness, Ye has gained a reputation for stirring up trouble. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder; it was later revealed.
He has stated that slavery was a choice and referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as the “mark of the beast.” Earlier this month, during Paris Fashion Week, Ye was slammed by the woke on Twitter for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to the show and dressing models in the same style.
Ye attempted to buy Parler, a conservative social network with no gatekeeper, after being suspended from Twitter and Facebook.
On Tuesday, the fashion, music, and garment industries distanced themselves from Ye.
Foot Locker announced a break with the Yeezy brand and the removal of Yeezy Adidas sneakers from its shelves and online sites.
Gap has stated that it will remove Yeezy Gap merchandise from its stores and close yeezygap.com.
According to Universal Music Group, which owns the Def Jam label, Ye’s music and merchandise contracts expired last year. The MRC studio stated on Monday that it is cancelling a full documentary about the rapper.
A Vogue representative stated on Tuesday that the magazine and its global editorial director, Anna Wintour, have no plans to work with Ye again after his recent controversial words and behaviour.
Jewish organizations have warned about the rapper’s remarks, which come from growing antisemitism. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, who hailed Adidas’ decision to drop Ye on Tuesday, claimed his group had documented a tripling of anti-Jewish harassment, vandalism, or violence since 2015.
“We are currently dealing in a context where antisemitism is empirically on the rise,” Greenblatt added. “When people with significant platforms give antisemitism and other forms of bigotry license, it creates an environment in which these kinds of acts have a degree of permission they might not have had previously.”
Lamarre stated that he recognized Ye’s mental health and personal concerns but that it is even more necessary to halt and evaluate providing him with a platform for his hateful words.
TikTok is currently confronting a profound and fundamental dilemma in the United States. If the app’s Chinese owner does not successfully sell it within the next year or so, it could be prohibited in its largest market.
This would significantly hinder China’s technological aspirations and exacerbate the separation between two distinct digital realms that revolve around competing economic superpowers.
ByteDance may be required to sell TikTok in order to avoid a nationwide ban under the legislation that Congress approved on Tuesday. President Joe Biden is anticipated to officially approve the bill on Wednesday; TikTok has already expressed its intention to contest the law through legal means.
Beijing has expressed significant opposition to a compulsory divestiture of TikTok and has amended its export control regulations to grant itself the authority to prohibit a sale based on national security concerns. ByteDance has limited choices to ensure TikTok’s future in the US, its largest market with 170 million users.
“The compelled divestiture of TikTok in the United States would result in a devaluation of the application, as the Chinese government will not authorize the transfer of its algorithms,” stated Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation and a lecturer at the Business School of the National University of Singapore.
He stated, “Should TikTok be compelled to cease operations in the United States, ByteDance’s prospects in other predominantly liberal democracies will face additional scrutiny.”
The Times – VOR News Image
Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide
The sale can be completely prevented if the Chinese government refuses to allow ByteDance to give over TikTok’s algorithm. Alternatively, it may enable the sale of TikTok without including the highly profitable algorithm that is the foundation for its widespread appeal.
The United States’ imposition of a ban or the implementation of a diminished iteration of TikTok would result in a significant financial gain.
Capri stated that YouTube, Google, Instagram, and other TikTok rivals may experience a significant loss of customers. Furthermore, this would significantly impede ByteDance’s global aspirations.
“A TikTok ban would signal that the Chinese government prioritizes the security of the algorithm over ByteDance’s financial success and global growth, ultimately putting an end to ByteDance’s worldwide expansion,” stated Richard Windsor, a tech industry analyst and the founder of Radio Free Mobile, a US-based research company.
“The consequences suggest that the ideological conflict occurring in the technology industry will escalate.”
Capri suggests that a ban on TikTok is expected to expedite a division in the global technology industry, creating two distinct factions: one oriented around the United States and the other supporting Chinese technology.
“This encompasses various aspects such as the ownership and operation of data centers, the presence of internet satellites in space, the existence of undersea cables, and, naturally, the production of semiconductors.”
From that perspective, the TikTok ban has a positive aspect for Beijing.
“The imposition of a ban in the United States will trigger renewed endeavors to expand China’s digital influence in Southeast Asia, as well as other predominantly emerging markets across the globe,” stated Capri.
Rising difficulties faced by Chinese applications
The TikTok legislation was incorporated into a comprehensive foreign aid package aimed at assisting Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
After President Biden’s approval, ByteDance will be given a maximum of one year to finalize the sale, or the platform will be subjected to a practical prohibition.
CBC – VOR News Image
Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide
US officials and politicians have consistently voiced apprehensions regarding TikTok’s potential national security hazards, such as the possibility of data sharing with the Chinese government or the manipulation of platform content. However, TikTok has refuted the allegations.
Paul Triolo, partner for China and Technology Policy Lead at Albright Stonebridge Group, stated that the new divestiture bill is a direct outcome of a well-coordinated lobbying campaign by Silicon Valley venture capitalists affiliated with US technology companies. These companies are expected to gain advantages from the narrative of the China threat that the bill’s supporters have been promoting.
According to him, Chinese enterprises and apps operating in the US are encountering increasing difficulties.
The Biden administration is strengthening a recently established office within the Commerce Department to enforce the conditions of a regulation implemented during the Trump era. This rule safeguards US information technology supply chains, particularly linked apps. This rule may also be utilized to advocate for additional limitations.
“Triolo stated that it is improbable for Congress to specifically target another Chinese company, such as TikTok, in a particular bill. However, the Commerce IT supply chain rule could potentially be utilized in the future to restrict the access of Chinese companies and apps to certain segments of the US market,” Triolo explained.
Can we expect a retaliatory response from Beijing?
The Commerce Ministry of China has committed to implementing all “essential actions” to safeguard its interests following the approval of a previous iteration of the TikTok bill by the House of Representatives last month. However, it did not provide further details.
On Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, responded to a question from CNN’s Marc Stewart by stating, “Regarding the TikTok issue, we have already expressed our position clearly, and I have no additional comments to make today.”
The Chinese government has already prohibited using most American social networking applications. Presently, Beijing restricts access to most US social media platforms, including Google, YouTube, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. This is due to their non-compliance with the Chinese government’s regulations regarding data collecting and the nature of shared content.
Triolo anticipates that Beijing will not respond with a significant level of intensity to the US prohibition on TikTok.
CTV – VOR News Image
Banning TikTok Would Hit China’s Tech Ambitions And Deepen The Global Digital Divide
“Beijing has expressed its opposition to any compulsory sale of TikTok US by Bytedance, but its main concern lies in the transfer of technology,” he stated. “Broadly speaking, Beijing places significantly less importance on a social media company compared to its concerns regarding US technology regulations.”
“Beijing is highly likely to respond with strong retaliation to new US export controls, but it is unlikely to reciprocate if the US eventually attempts to ban TikTok in the US,” he added.
Beijing recently instructed Apple (AAPL) to eliminate social messaging applications WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram from its China app store. However, the Chinese government has yet to take significant actions to suppress virtual private networks (VPNs), which technologically adept Chinese individuals commonly utilize to interact with friends overseas through messaging applications.
“The timing of the move was probably intended to demonstrate China’s ongoing commitment to blocking certain apps that it deems a threat to national security. However, it is worth noting that the number of users of the blocked apps in China is significantly lower than the approximately 170 million TikTok users in the United States,” Triolo stated.
SOURCE – (CNN)
Ontario, Canada. Negotiators from most states are currently discussing the draft of a worldwide treaty aimed at eradicating plastic pollution, marking the first instance of such negotiations.
Delegates and observers at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution regarded it as a positive development, and discussions have transitioned from conceptualization to the formulation of a treaty at this fourth out of five planned plastics summits.
The concept of internationally restricting the production of plastic is highly controversial. The document continues to exist despite the vehement opposition from countries and companies involved in plastic production, as well as oil and gas exporters. The majority of plastic is derived from fossil fuels and chemical compounds.
The Ottawa session was set for late Monday or early Tuesday. During Monday night’s meeting, there was a heated debate about whether the working groups should prioritize the issue of plastic manufacture before the upcoming and final meeting.
AP – VOR News Image
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
According to Stewart Harris, a representative of the International Council of Chemical Associations, the members are advocating for a treaty that specifically addresses the recycling and reuse of plastic, sometimes known as “circularity.”
Many scientists from the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty attended the meeting to present scientific facts on plastic pollution to negotiators. Their objective was to counteract any misinformation that may be circulating.
Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicology professor at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg and coalition co-leader, stated that yesterday’s claim about the lack of microplastic data is factually incorrect. In reality, there have been 21,000 published articles on micro and nanoplastics. “It resembles the game Whac-A-Mole.”
AP – VOR News Image
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
According to her, scientists have been subjected to harassment and intimidation by lobbyists. She informed the United Nations that a lobbyist shouted directly at her during a meeting.
Ecuador’s lead negotiator, Walter Schuldt, stated that despite their divergences, the countries represented have a shared objective of advancing in the treaty process.
“In the interview, he emphasized that we are discussing the preservation of life in the future, encompassing not only human life but also all forms of life on Earth,” he stated.
He expressed his pride in participating in and contributing his small but meaningful effort to the worldwide initiative to tackle an environmental issue.
The negotiators’ objective is to finalize a treaty by the conclusion 2024. The topics given to expert working groups by tonight will progress to the final stage of discussions in autumn in South Korea.
Without undertaking this preparatory work in between meetings, it would be intimidating to successfully conclude the negotiations within this year. Several nations expressed their dedication to collaborating during the intervals between talks on Sunday evening.
The treaty negotiations commenced in Uruguay in December 2022, and Rwanda and Peru’s subsequent submission of the resolution initiated the process in March 2022.
Progress was sluggish at the Paris discussions in May 2023 and the Nairobi talks in November as countries deliberated about the process’s regulations.
Upon the arrival of numerous negotiators and observers in Ottawa, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the committee chair from Ecuador, reminded them of their objective and urged them to exhibit ambition.
“We have a responsibility to create a new treaty that will stimulate and direct the necessary actions and global collaboration to achieve a future devoid of plastic pollution,” he stated. “We must not disappoint them.”
The delegates have discussed the treaty’s scope, chemicals of concern, problematic and avoidable plastics, product design, and financing and implementation.
Delegates also simplified the cumbersome assortment of choices from the previous meeting.
Many individuals journeyed to Ottawa from communities impacted by plastic manufacture and pollution. Residents residing near petrochemical plants and refineries in Louisiana and Texas distributed postcards to the U.S. State Department with the message, “We desire your presence.”
AP – VOR News Image
Global Negotiations On A Treaty To End Plastic Pollution At Critical Phase In Canada
The members of the Break Free From Plastic movement journeyed collectively and urged negotiators to personally witness air and water contamination in their regions.
“This remains the most optimal choice we possess to witness transformation in our communities.” Corporations heavily influence them. Jo Banner, a St. John the Baptist Parish resident in Louisiana, expressed their inability to attend the local government. “It seems that this is my sole opportunity and source of optimism to assist my community in recovering and finding solace.”
Members of an Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus held a news conference on Saturday. They expressed concern that microplastics are polluting their food supply. They emphasized that this pollution threatens their communities and ways of life, which are guaranteed to them indefinitely. They perceived a lack of acknowledgment of their opinions.
“Our stakes are larger.” “These are our hereditary territories that are being contaminated with plastic,” Juressa Lee, a resident of New Zealand, expressed following the occurrence. “We are individuals or groups who possess legal rights, rather than individuals or groups with an interest or involvement in a particular issue.” We should be granted greater autonomy in expressing our opinions and judgments than individuals responsible for the issue.
Historically, plastic was not present, but currently, in the Bay of Plenty, the sediment and shellfish, which serve as their seafood supply, are contaminated with little plastic particles. Lee stated that they consider nature’s “resources” as valuable assets.
“Indigenous methods can serve as a guiding force,” Lee stated. “The current approach we are taking is evidently ineffective.”
Vi Waghiyi journeyed from Alaska to advocate for the rights and interests of Arctic Indigenous communities. She emphasizes to decision-makers the need to ensure that this pact provides long-term protection against plastic pollution for future generations.
She stated that their purpose in being here is to serve as the moral compass, ensuring that the decisions made are in the best interest of all individuals.
SOURCE – (AP)
European Union authorities are investigating Meta because they worry that the firm has not taken sufficient measures to safeguard the next EU elections or address the issue of foreign disinformation on its platforms. This investigation could result in significant fines or other types of punishment.
On Monday, the European Commission revealed that the new investigation specifically focuses on management of fraudulent and foreign actors interfering in elections advertising. The investigation will also look into Meta’s decision to discontinue a tool that journalists and researchers frequently use to keep an eye on facebook’s platforms.
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EU Investigates Meta Over Fears Of Election Interference And Foreign Disinformation
The probe represents the most recent instance of European regulators asserting their authority over US tech firms in response to implementing a series of new regulations to curb their power.
Authorities have stated that the inquiry brings attention to evident breaches of the Digital Services Act, Europe’s prominent legislation regulating internet platforms. If the crimes are verified, they might result in substantial fines amounting to 6% of Meta’s worldwide turnover.
As part of the investigation, officials are examining if Meta’s efforts to reduce the ranking of political information in users’ feeds may breach the transparency regulations of the DSA. Furthermore, Meta’s options for users to report illicit content do not seem to comply with the criteria of the DSA.
reuters – VOR News Image
EU Investigates Meta Over Fears Of Election Interference And Foreign Disinformation
The probe follows Meta’s submission of necessary documentation to the European Commission last autumn, detailing its approach to addressing perceived hazards associated with its products. The probe conducted on Monday shows the European Union’s doubt that Meta has effectively mitigated such risks.
The study places a lot of emphasis on Meta’s decision to stop using CrowdTangle, a tool that civil society organizations had previously used to keep an eye on hot topics on Facebook and Instagram.
According to the European Commission, in the absence of it, users and researchers may encounter less transparency regarding the operations of Meta services, which could limit their ability to spot and address instances of foreign election manipulation.
The company announced earlier this year that CrowdTangle will cease to be accessible after August 14.
The European Commission has stated that discontinuing support for CrowdTangle without a suitable alternative could harm civic discourse and electoral processes. This includes tracking and identifying mis- and disinformation, detecting voter interference and suppression, and providing real-time transparency to fact-checkers, journalists, and other stakeholders involved in elections.
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EU Investigates Meta Over Fears Of Election Interference And Foreign Disinformation
A spokeswoman from Facebook stated that the company will collaborate with the investigation.
The representative stated that our platforms have a firmly established procedure for identifying and reducing hazards. “We anticipate maintaining our collaboration with the European Commission and furnishing them with additional specifics regarding this project.”
SOURCE – (CNN)
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