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AMC Reverses Course After Saying It Won’t Require Masks to Avoid “Political Controversy”

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  • AMC, Regal, and Cinemark theater groups said this week that they won’t require customers to wear masks when they reopen.
  • While each was criticized for the policy, AMC sparked the most outrage on Thursday when its CEO said the chain will not require guests to wear masks in order to avoid “political controversy.”
  • AMC then said Friday that it was listening to its customers’ concerns and announced that it would be reversing course, requiring customers to wear masks at all soon-to-reopen locations.
  • AMC is expected to reopen 450 locations on July 15 and hundreds of more in the following weeks. Neither Regal nor Cinemark have announced any changes to their current mask policies.

AMC Won’t Require Masks

With most movie theaters in the United States set to reopen by the end of next month, several theater chains announced this week that they won’t require moviegoers to wear masks. 

That includes AMC, Regal, and Cinemark—the three largest theater chains in the U.S. While each of those announcements individually received backlash, it was AMC that has been embroiled in the most controversy.

Because of that, AMC quickly reversed course on Friday and said that it will now require all guests to wear masks. 

The controversy began Thursday when Variety published an interview with AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron. In it, Aron explained the reasoning behind the policy, saying, “We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy.” 

“We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary,” he added. “We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks. When I go to an AMC feature, I will certainly be wearing a mask and leading by example.”

The “political controversy” Aron cites likely refers to the belief that mask requirements infringe upon citizens’ personal freedoms. In May, a woman refused to wear a mask into a Gelson’s in Orange County, California, claiming it was her right to not wear one. Her interaction with employees then went viral

President Donald Trump has also suggested that wearing masks is a political statement, saying that some people may be wearing masks not to protect themselves from COVID-19 but as a way to “signal disapproval of him.”

Still, many others—including numerous public health officials—have stressed that wearing a facial covering helps protect others from spreading COVID-19 if they may not yet know they have it. Because of that, they argue that masks help add a level of safety for elderly individuals, as well as for those who have naturally weakened immune systems.

In the interview, Aron said AMC would still sell masks for $1 to guests who forgot to bring theirs and wanted one. He also said all employees will be required to wear masks. 

Though the chain will now require a mask for everyone in each of its locations, it is still not expected to perform temperature checks on customers. Some businesses have adopted that measure as a way to screen for COVID-19.

Like many other businesses, AMC will reopen with reduced capacity seating in order to help people socially distance and will implement several new cleaning procedures. In its first stage, AMC will only allow 30% capacity for every showtime. As it moves forward, it will then increase capacity to 40%. 

AMC said that it hopes to be able to fill its theaters to half capacity by Labor Day. By Thanksgiving, it hopes to be able to once again fully fill its theaters. 

Additionally, AMC plans to clean auditoriums between each showtime, with extra time being allotted between screenings to allow for disinfection. The chain will also provide hand sanitizing stations throughout each of its locations and will encourage contact-less and cash-free forms of payment.

“We didn’t rush to reopen,” Aron told Variety. “There were some jurisdictions in some states, such as Georgia and Texas, that allowed people to reopen theaters in mid-May. We opted to remain closed, so we could give the country time to get a better handle on coronavirus. We wanted to use this time to figure out how best to open and how to do so safely.”

Other municipalities have been much slower to open. Some still require masks to be worn at all times when in public. Even without AMC’s updated mask rules, moviegoers in those areas would have still been required to wear masks.

AMC is expected to reopen about 450 of its locations on July 15. On July 24, the chain plans to reopen 150 additional theaters to coincide with Disney’s release of “Mulan.” This live-action remake of the classic 90’s film will be the first big-budget film release since the coronavirus shutdown. It was originally scheduled to release in March. 

The following week, Christopher Nolan’s spy film “Tenet” is expected to begin running in theaters.

AMC’s Original Mask Policy Blasted on Social Media

Though Aron had wished to keep AMC theaters from becoming embattled within a political controversy, his statement seemed to encite just that. Following his comments, #BoycottAMC trended on Twitter Thursday evening, with that hashtag still trending the next day. 

Many were quick to criticize AMC’s plan to not require facial coverings as reckless, saying that even though many local and state governments are easing lockdown measures, the coronavirus still remains a serious health concern.

“Dear @AMCTheatres,” one Twitter user said. “I am a person with 10+ pre-existing conditions. I’m also a huge movie lover. I hope you know that it’s nothing political when I say that I will #BoycottAMC. It’s a matter of life or death for me & you’ve lost a customer for life.”

Others, though still criticizing AMC’s optional mask policy, reminded users that both Cinemark and Regal plan to enact the same policy upon opening. Neither of those chains, however, made comments about facial coverings being political in nature. 

AMC Says It Will Now Require Masks

In a lengthy statement released on Friday, AMC attempted to assuage outraged customers by reversing course on Aron’s original comments. 

“At AMC, we have been consulting with top scientists and health experts to create a broad, sweeping, far-reaching health and safety effort to make AMC Theatres safe for our guests and associates when our theatres reopen in July,” the chain said before comparing its original policy to those of its major competitors like Regal and Cinemark.

“This announcement prompted an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks,” it added.

“At AMC Theatres, we think it is absolutely crucial that we listen to our guests. Accordingly, and with the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing our guest mask policy. As we reopen theatres, we now will require that all AMC guests nationwide wear masks as they enter and enjoy movies at our theatres. The speed with which AMC moved to revise our mask policies is a reflection of our commitment to the safety and health of our guests.”

“We will constantly monitor the scientific community’s latest thinking as to the efficacy of mask usage. We also will be looking at the varying health conditions in specific localities around our theatres all across the country. This will help us to determine what our mask policy will be as we go forward, as well as to make any other needed changes to this policy.”

“Those who are unwilling to wear a mask will not be admitted or allowed to stay.”

Regal and Cinemark have yet to announce any potential changes to their mask policies. 

See what others are saying: (The Hollywood Reporter) (The New York Times) (CNBC)

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Amazon to Pay Over $30 Million for Alexa and Ring Privacy Violations

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Privacy violation charges stack up against the tech giant as the FTC partners up with the DOJ. 


Amazon Pays Up

Amazon agreed to a $30 million settlement for each of these complaints over complaints alleging that its Alexa and Ring products violated customer privacy.

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department accused Amazon of retaining children’s geolocation data as well as the recordings of their conversations with Alexa. Additionally, the FTC brought another complaint against Amazon’s Ring for violating their customers’ privacy and failing to complement basic security measures.

In addition to the accusations of retaining data, the FTC also charges Amazon with deceiving their customers, saying requests from parents to delete their children’s recordings and other data went ignored despite repeated assurances that parents can delete the data at any time. 

Amazon says this data was retained to train their Alexa algorithms to better understand children. But their reasoning does not change law. Their actions are still in violation of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA. 

“Amazon’s history of misleading parents, keeping children’s recordings indefinitely, and flouting parents’ deletion requests violated COPPA and sacrificed privacy for profits,” said Samuel Levine, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in the press release regarding the complaint. “COPPA does not allow companies to keep children’s data forever for any reason, and certainly not to train their algorithms.”

The Settlement’s Details

The proposed settlement that Amazon agreed to on Wednesday includes a $25 million civil penalty as well as requirements to both delete the data in question and never use voice recordings of adults or children in the development or creation of a product again. 

However approval on this settlement is still needed from the federal courts. 

Despite agreeing to the settlement, Amazon denies violating COPPA, saying they designed Amazon Kids for parents to have full control and to comply with the law.

In their complaint against Ring, the FTC accused the company of violating their customers’ privacy by allowing countless employees and hundreds of contractors access to the videos from Ring cameras. 

Leading to situations like one in 2017, when a Ring employee watched thousands of videos belonging to dozens of female customers, including those in their bedrooms and bathrooms. 

Additionally, the FTC says that Ring did not implement basic security protections for years which allowed hackers to take control of their customers’ accounts, cameras, and videos  leading to 55,000 US Ring customers facing hacker attacks. In some cases, hackers could access Ring’s two-way functions to harass, insult, and threaten people – including children. The complaint alleges that Ring’s egregious privacy failings lasted for at least 4 years – between at least 2016 to 2020. 

Amazon responded to the complaint saying that RIng had addressed the concerns before the FTC even began their inquiry. 

The FTC proposed a settlement of $5.8 million in consumer refunds – as well as a demand for Ring to create a privacy and security program. The settlement also awaits federal court approval. 

See what others are saying: (New York Times) (Axios) (CNBC)

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Right-Wingers Are Turning Against Chick-fil-A

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Some have accused the company of joining a woke “cult” after learning of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.


Chick-fil-A Goes “Woke”

Conservatives are condemning Chick-fil-A after learning of the fast food chain’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Some have accused the brand of bowing “to the Woke mob.” Others have debated boycotting the chain.

It’s unclear when exactly Chick-fil-A began its DEI campaign, but according to LinkedIn, the current Vice President of DEI, Erick McReynolds, has been working in the department since 2020 before taking on his current role in 2021. It is also unclear why right-wingers on Twitter have just now discovered Chick-fil-A’s DEI website, but many spent a chunk of Tuesday morning lambasting the company for working to promote diversity. 

Chick-fil-A’s DEI page is titled “Committed to being Better at Together.” 

“Modeling care for others starts in the restaurant, and we are committed to ensuring mutual respect, understanding and dignity everywhere we do business,” McReynolds said in a statement on the website. 

Chick-fil-A is no stranger to boycott campaigns, though those efforts usually come from the opposite side of the political aisle. The company, known for its strong Christian ties, has been criticized for donating to groups with anti-LGBTQ missions. As a result, many on the left have refused to eat there, while it has been a haven for those on the right. 

Conservatives, however, have become increasingly outraged by DEI initiatives. Chick-fil-A’s website, which only vaguely outlines its DEI efforts, still seems to be enough for the right to change its tune about the brand. 

“Even our beloved Chick-Fil-A has fallen to the DEI cult,” one person tweeted. “the same agenda that is turning our beloved military woke.”

“It’s becoming an epidemic that even Christian companies are being strong-armed to participate in,” the tweet continued. 

Old Clip of Chairman Resurfaces 

Some have also started resurfacing an old clip of Chick-fil-A Chairman Dan Cathy speaking on a panel about racism during the summer of 2020. During the discussion, he talked about repentance and said that if you ever see someone who needs their shoes shined, you should do it. He then walked over to a Black person on the panel, got on his knees, and shined their shoes.

“There’s a time in which we need to have, you know, some personal action here, and maybe we need to give them a hug, too,” Cathy said while shining the shoes.

“I bought about 1,500 of these and I gave them to all our Chick-fil-A operators and staff a number of years ago,” Cathy continued, in reference to his shoe-shining brush. “So, any expressions of a contrite heart, of a sense of humility, a sense of shame, a sense of embarrassment begat with an apologetic heart — I think that’s what our world needs to hear today.”

The clip caused a stir when the events first unfolded, and has prompted a new wave of anger now. Some are accusing Cathy of being “a woke, anti-American, anti-white BLM boot licker” who thinks all white people need to shamefully shine the shoes of Black people to apologize for racism, though that is not what he said. 

These boycott calls are just the latest from conservatives who have been on a rampage against any company supporting any social cause they deem as “woke.” Earlier this year, the political right took a stand against Bud Light after it included a trans influencer in a sponsored Instagram post. Just last week, Target and Kohls faced boycotts over items in their Pride Month collections. 

See what others are saying: (The Hill) (Rolling Stone) (AL)

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Bioré Apologizes For Referencing School Shooting in Mental Health Ad Campaign 

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 “Our tonality was completely inappropriate. We are so sorry,” the skincare brand said.


Video Faces Backlash

The skincare brand Bioré apologized this week for partnering with a school shooting survivor as part of its Mental Health Awareness Month campaign. 

“We are committed to continuing our mental health mission, but we promise to do it in a better way,” the company said in an Instagram post on Sunday. 

Last week, influencer and recent Michigan State University graduate Cecilee Max-Brown posted a video to TikTok sponsored by Bioré where she discussed the numerous challenges she had faced throughout the year. Among them was a school shooting on her college’s campus, which killed three people in February. 

“Life has thrown countless obstacles at me this year, from the school shooting to having no idea what life is going to look like after college,” Max-Brown says in the video. “In honor of mental health awareness month, I’m partnering with Bioré skin care to strip away the stigma of anxiety. 

“We want you to get it all out, not only what’s in your pores, but most importantly, what’s on your mind, too,” she continued. 

In the 50-second video, Max-Brown went on to discuss more details about her mental health struggles, as well as how “seeing the effects of gun violence firsthand” has impacted her and led to “countless anxiety attacks.”

“I will never forget the feeling of terror that I had walking around campus for weeks in a place I considered home,” she said before closing the video by encouraging her followers to participate in Bioré’s mental health campaign.

Bioré Apologizes

The video ignited swift outrage from people who accused Bioré of using a school shooting to sell products. In its apology, the brand admitted the video was misguided. 

In the past, Bioré said it has worked with influencers to discuss and reduce mental health stigmas, as the subject is a top priority for its consumers. 

“This time, however, we did it the wrong way,” the company said. “We lacked sensitivity around an incredibly serious tragedy, and our tonality was completely inappropriate. We are so sorry.”

Max-Brown also apologized on TikTok, writing that the video was intended to spread awareness, not suggest a product fixed the struggles she has experienced as a result of the shooting.

“I did not mean to desensitize the traumatic event that took place as I know the effects that it has had on me and the Spartan community,” she wrote. 

Max-Brown has since removed the initial sponsored video from her account.

See what others are saying: (The New York Times) (NBC News) (The Independent)

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