A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday rejected a Department of Justice (DOJ) request to immediately ban Apple from offering WeChat in the US. In early August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions against Chinese mobile applications TikTok and WeChat, stating that the spread of Chinese mobile apps throughout [...]
![US imposes new sanctions on Iran oil sector](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/01/iran_1578693909.jpg)
The US Department of the Treasury announced Monday that it was imposing new sanctions on the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Tanker Company, and <21 other individuals, entities, and vessels. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated them as counterterrorism authorities for their financial [...]
![Lawsuit claims Uber fires drivers based on ‘racially biased’ rating system](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/09/uber_1568999731.jpg)
A lawsuit filed Monday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California claims that Uber discriminates against minority drivers through its star rating system. Uber uses a star rating system for its drivers, through which Uber passengers rate drivers on a scale of one to five after each ride. Uber uses this [...]
Four international human rights organizations have sent letters to over 3,500 mayors and city council members in the US, urging them to review laws and practices before the November 3 general election to protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. In a separate letter to governors released Tuesday, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International-USA, Physicians for [...]
Authorities in Lagos Tuesday imposed a round-the-clock curfew following protests against alleged police brutality. According to eyewitnesses, 12 protestors and others were wounded after police forces opened fire on the protesting crowds. Protests began following the death of a young man at the hands of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) unit in early October. The [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Google for allegedly violating US antitrust laws. The lawsuit, which was joined by 11 states, accused Google of using anticompetitive and exclusionary practices to unlawfully maintain monopolies in general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising. In recent years, Google has accounted [...]
![Federal appeals court reinstates Texas procedure for mail-in ballot signatures](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/10/signature_1570565234.jpg)
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday reinstated Texas’s procedures for rejecting ballots with signatures that appear not to match those on record with elections officials. The Early Voting Ballot Board (EVBB), which is responsible for processing early voting results, will only accept ballots if the voter’s signature is determined not [...]
![China elected to UN rights council despite criticism over rights violations](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/09/UN_1600396019.jpg)
The UN General Assembly elected China to the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Tuesday, despite the country holding about one million Uighur Muslims in detention camps. The General Assembly also elected Cuba, Russia, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, all of which were also accused of human rights violations. UNHRC membership is limited to 47 countries, and council members [...]
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Monday that reforms Michigan’s criminal expungement laws by allowing people with low-level marijuana convictions to have their records expunged. She also approved other “clean slate” criminal justice reform bills that will expand record expungement for other convictions, including certain traffic offenses. Whitmer signed House Bills 4980, 4981, 4982, 4983, [...]
![Federal appeals court reinstates Texas absentee ballot drop box limit](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/11/Absentee-Ballot.jpg)
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday reinstated Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order limiting absentee ballot drop boxes to one location per county, regardless of population. In response to COVID-19, Abbott issued various proclamations pertaining to the November election. This included allowing early voting six days earlier than normal and allowing [...]