I have been scared, broken and sick to my stomach ever since I read messages about my 13-year-old daughter including, “I hope SHE KILLS HERSELF. Seriously nobody will care”. No one, especially our youth, should have to read messages like this about them. These messages were sent through an app called Sarahah, which can be downloaded for free on both the App Store and on Google Play. Sarahah is an app where people can make anonymous accounts and send anonymous messages to and about others. Because of the anonymous nature of the app, Sarahah has become what users describe as “an app breeding suicides” and “a breeding ground for hate”. My daughter and I have been shattered by this app, and tragically another teenager, in the UK, was found hanged early in 2017 after allegedly being bullied on a similar app called Sayat.Me, which was shut down in May. Both the App Store and Google Play have policies against apps that facilitate bullying, harassment or self harm. Why then is Sarahah still available on these platforms? No parent can stomach this abuse of their children and I cannot even imagine losing my beautiful, sweet girl to suicide. This is why we need to protect our children. I read an article on ‘Dolly’, a 14 year old, who after so much bullying, took her life just after the New Year. Dolly felt that her only way out was suicide. I do not want my daughter or any other to become the next Dolly. App Store and Google Play - help us protect our most vulnerable and ban bullying apps like Sarahah now. #speakevenifyourvoiceshakes #doitfordolly  

On December 14th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to take up a proposal to repeal Net Neutrality. The plan the repeal Net Neutrality is expected to be successful.                      As such, we'd like to extend this opportunity to                Google, Amazon, Apple & Facebook to do something great...Save The Internet!   As the information and business backbone of our society, this decision would be nothing short of horrendous - imagine what your cable company will do when they can treat the internet like cable.    This attack on the free and open internet, one that has allowed the US to lead global information and tech innovation,  will suffocate US innovation and seriously damage the economy.    Therefore we humbly call on Google, Amazon, Apple & Facebook to pull all their services - Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, GSuite, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, etc.; Amazon, Zappos, Amazon Web Services, Audible; iTunes, iDrive, Apple Music, etc.; Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, etc from any ISP that takes advantage of any rule weakening or destroying Net Neutrality.   We also call on Google, Amazon, Apple & Facebook to vigorously oppose any government to allow ISPs to block, slow, or otherwise discriminate against certain content or applications.                              Imagine a world where we're still all using AOL on dial-up.   Changes to the new rules include any changes to network access or speed, either to the benefit of those who can pay more to have their content move faster than others through the network of an ISP, or to the detriment of those who do not, in effect forcing ISPs to treat themselves as "common carriers".                                                    _______ If Net Neutrality is not upheld, internet service providers (ISPs), generally your cable company, will be able to decide which websites you can see, prevent you from accessing any website they see fit, charge you extra for access to certain pages or services (think $5/mo for Facebook!), and destroy new innovations. Additional materials "See what no net neutrality looks like": www.qz.com/why-is-net- neutrality-important-look-to- portugal-and-spain-to- understand/ "FCC plan would give Internet providers power to choose the sites customers see and use": https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/11/21/the-fcc-has-unveiled-its-plan-to-rollback-its-net-neutrality-rules/?utm_term=.709e09581684 "Net Neutrality, The Smart People's Guide": https://www. techrepublic.com/article/net- neutrality-the-smart-persons- guide/ ISP Lobbyist Talking Points:    https://www.documentcloud. org/documents/3728775-GOP- Member-Toolkit-FCC-Open- Internet-Order-5-2017.html

Suicide is a major health concern.  The summer before my freshman year of high school, I found out that two of my close friends had attempted suicide; and they're not alone. According to the CDC, in 2016 suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. It was also the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 to 34.  With preteens, adolescents, and young adults at a high risk, Apple is in a perfect position to help. According to Business Insider, 82% of American teenagers own an iPhone as of April 2018.  While there are resources to help those struggling with suicidality, many have trouble seeking them out. I would like all iPhones in America to come with a contact already set up for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). 

For over 50 years, we have celebrated the holidays with the airings of the Peanuts holiday specials on TV - first on CBS, then on ABC. To our shock and dismay, last night it was announced that Apple had swiped the football from us and claimed the specials for their Apple TV platform, leaving us devoted fans who have grown up with Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang in the dark, unable to watch. Obviously we can't let this stand. We can not let Apple take the football away from us like Lucy always does to Charlie Brown! It's time for us Peanuts fans to stand up to Apple and Wildbrain Studios (current owners of Peanuts) and show them they're making a mistake. With this petition, we are making a statement - the statement that #AppleHatesTradition and that the tradition of watching the Peanuts holiday specials should be renewed as soon as possible! All we have to do is sign this, send it off and and share it. Win or lose, we are telling Apple and Wildbrain Studios that we will not fall for their corporate greed. But our goal is to get our Peanuts back on television and bring back the tradition! The time for saying 'Good Grief' is over. Now's the time to take action. Now's the time to fight back! Do it for Charlie Brown and for Peanuts fans everywhere, young and old!

Update: Major media outlets from around the world have reported on the terrible quality of life for the workers in these factories.  Apple has clearly taken the reports seriously - because they're taking action on them.  So, while This American Life may be retracting 'Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory,' it seems like the issues and facts at the core of this story are still the same. As an Apple customer, I'm glad to have had my eyes opened to these issues, and to have had a chance to do something about them.  My sincere hope is that everyone stays focused on what's important here - which is protecting the well-being of these factory workers. Dear Apple, You know what’s awesome? Listening to NPR podcasts through an Apple Airport, playing through a Mac laptop, while puttering about the kitchen. Do you know the fastest way to replace awesome with a terrible knot in your stomach? Learning that your beloved Apple products are made in factories where conditions are so bad, it’s not uncommon for workers to permanently lose the use of their hands. Last week’s This American Life shined a spotlight on the working conditions in the Chinese factories where iPhones are made. Just one example of the hardships there: the men and women in these factories work very long days spent repeating the same motions over and over, which creates amped-up carpal tunnel syndrome in their wrists and hands. This often results in them losing the use of their hands for the rest of their lives. This condition could be easily prevented if the workers were rotated through different positions in the factory, but they are not. Why? Because there are no labor laws in China to protect these people. Here’s the thing: you’re Apple. You’re supposed to think different. I want to continue to use and love the products you make, because they’re changing the world, and have already changed my life. But I also want to know that when I buy products from you, it’s not at the cost of horrible human suffering. Here are two simple asks (basically taken from the end of the TAL report) that could make a profound difference in the lives of the men and women in your factories and others like them: First, in regards to the worker traumas described in the story, ranging from suicide attempts to the people losing the use of their hands from repetitive motion injuries, we ask that Apple release a worker protection strategy for new product releases, which are the instances when injuries and suicides typically spike because of the incredible pressure to meet quotas timed to releases. Second, since the TAL story aired, Apple has announced that the Fair Labor Association will be monitoring its suppliers. Awesome step. Please publish the results of FLA's monitoring, including the NAMES of the suppliers found to have violations and WHAT those violations are, so that there is transparency around the monitoring effort. Please make these changes immediately, so that each of us can once again hold our heads high and say, “I’m a Mac person.” Your own ads say that “the people who think they are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Please get to it.

It is very worrying that Kosovo is not shown on Apple Maps. You can hardly see its borders and the worst thing is that it is shown as a part of Serbia. This needs to change ASAP because Kosovo has been an independent country since 2008. 

This petition is to stand up for all victims of R Kelly.  It is to stop the flow of income to a person who has shown his colors of being a sexual predator of underage women.  We want Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube to stop streaming and selling his music!

for PR enquiries contact us at: pr@houseofkurds.org  More than 85 million Kurds live across the globe mainly in their divided land between Southeast Turkey, Northeast Syria, North Iraq & Northwest Iran. Kurds identify themselves as Kurds and embracing our Identity via our language, culture, art & flag is very important to us Kurds because we have been oppressed, genocided, assimilated, murdered and discriminated for hundred of Years still we never lost hope. Our Kurdish Flag is a Symbol of our existence and represents our Values, Suffer & History which impacted every single Kurd Family in the world. Red: Symbolises the blood of the martyrs & the continued struggle for freedom & dignity. Green: Expresses the beauty & landscapes of Kurdistan. Life & vitality. Yellow: source of life & light of the Kurd People. The sun is an ancient symbol & twenty one sunbeams White: Peace & equality. We live in a modern world were technology is connecting people across the globe and empowering humans to live their dreams. We believe adding the Flag of the Kurd People is a symbol of acceptance, respect & recognition towards the Kurd People who suffered for decades and never had a voice in any global community. Give us a Voice, add our Kurdistan Flag as a Symbol. Kurd People are puzzling their own flag emoji together with coloured heart emojis ❤️ & the sun emoji ☀️  This has to change! Kurds have the right to express their emotions like all other people & a Kurdistan Flag emoji would mean a lot to us and enable us to express ourselves. Many communities have their own symbol in the Keyboard not just countries.  We demand a Kurdistan Flag Emoji. Help us, sign & share right now.          

People with hearing loss have trouble communicating in many situations leading to isolation and loneliness during normal times. Today, amid COVID-19, things are even tougher. In-person conversation has moved online, leaving many people with hearing loss few options for connecting with family and friends, especially seniors who are most at risk for developing virus complications. Free automatic speech recognition (ASR) captioning for people with hearing loss on video conference platforms like Zoom and Google could make all the difference. Today I pen an open letter to these companies. An Open Letter To Zoom, Google & Microsoft Dear Zoom, Google, Microsoft and other video conferencing providers, Please make free ASR captions available on your platforms for people with hearing loss immediately. In most cases, the technology exists and is integrated into your platform behind a paywall. Providing this service for free for people with hearing loss would not only improve the accessibility of your product, it is also the right thing to do. Communicating by video call has become the new reality in our COVID-19 world. Video calls are helpful for people with hearing loss because we can see the other person’s face, which helps with lipreading. But in meetings with many participants, or even in one on one conversations with people using weak microphones or laggy internet connections, video is not enough for understanding. Captioning is necessary. The gold standard of captioning is Communication Access Realtime Translation or CART, where a live transcriber types what is spoken in real time. But technology is rapidly catching up and now a handful of high quality automatic speech recognition (ASR) options do exist. In these times of change, an ASR alternative can be acceptable for most communications. What can Zoom do today to improve accessibility?Zoom provides the option to offer CART through its service, but CART requires the availability of a live transcriber in the meeting and is very expensive. This is unrealistic for most people with hearing loss living in this economic crisis brought on by COVID-19. Zoom also also allows for integration with Otter, a popular speech-to-text app used effectively by many people with hearing loss for its high quality ASR, but only for paid Zoom accounts. Zoom must remove this paywall for people with hearing loss. What can Google do today to improve accessibility? Google has long been a leader in providing accessibility tools for people with hearing loss. It speech-to-text app Live Transcribe is fast and accurate and its Live Caption app brings ASR captioning to digital media. Google falls short when it comes to its video conferencing product, which limits its ASR captioning to its paid G-suite customers. Google must remove this paywall for people with hearing loss. What can Microsoft do today to improve accessibility?Microsoft offers free captioning through Powerpoint, Microsoft Stream and its Skype video chat (up to 50 people), but it restricts access to captioning for larger meetings behind a pay wall. Microsoft must remove the paywall for people with hearing loss. Sincerely,  Shari Eberts   Founder, LivingWithHearingLoss.com Please share my words and add your own. Together, we can bring about the change we need for people with hearing loss to remain engaged and productive in today’s challenging times.  

REJECTED AND RESUBMITTING PROPOSAL WITH AFROMOJI + DREADMOJI. Let's tell Unicode that #AfroHairMatters!! Emoji are a universal language of self expression in a world that interacts in digital spaces. Afrocentric users don’t have emoji that reflect our natural selves as they mirror Eurocentric beauty norms. Afrovisibility is a way to shift global Black hair discrimination to to celebration and education.  I am fighting for Afromoji because our hair and culture matters. I submitted an official Afro Hair Emoji proposal last year for potential acceptance in their 2020 selection, along with your 65k+ signatures and a viral media storm worldwide. They rejected our proposal citing the "curly hair emoji was designed to reflect a variety of hairstyles." The message behind the campaign is that our hair is more than a hairstyle, but an entire culture unrepresented in digital conversations. Afro hair has been long neglected in universal beauty norms, which you see globally from actors and newscasters told their natural hair is unprofessional to children being suspended from school for natural hairstyles. We should celebrate of the cultural and historical richness of our roots, onscreen and IRL! The addition of the Afro Hair Emoji would help diversify cultural representation and digital inclusivity.  Sign our petition to support the natural hair movement and empower more users to celebrate not only their skin, but the hair that they’re in. This petition will prove the urgency and value of an Afro Hair emoji. Thank you for your support! Sign, share and tell your friends why #AfroHairMatters! ❤️ xx, Creator Rhianna Jones @xx_rhiannajones  and Designer Kerrilyn Gibson @kerrilynnoelle