YouTube said Friday that it would pull advertising from videos that espouse anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, according to BuzzFeed. The action contributes to a growing trend of social media companies taking action to combat the spread of vaccine misinformation online.

Social media companies, including Facebook and YouTube, have recently been facing pressure to get better at this, following inquiries from media and calls from lawmakers. The World Health Organization recently categorized “vaccine hesitancy” as one of 2019’s top threats to global health. 

The US is experiencing a measles outbreak — a previously near-eradicated disease — that’s affecting unvaccinated children. Social media has played a significant role in proliferating the false conspiracy that vaccines can cause autism.

SEE ALSO: YouTube’s pedophilia problem: more than 400 channels deleted as advertisers flee over child predators

A report from BuzzFeed caused companies to pull their advertising from anti-vaccination videos on YouTube. Now, YouTube says that anti-vaccination videos constitute “dangerous and harmful” content, which disqualify it for advertising according to YouTube’s policies. So videos spreading anti-vaccination information won’t be able to make money. 

BuzzFeed also found that the Up Next panel for genuine health videos about vaccines contained vaccination conspiracy theory videos. That is, YouTube was actually serving anti-vaxxer information alongside legitimate health information. YouTube now says that it is making changes to its algorithm to stop this practice. It has also begun to include an excerpt from the Wikipedia page about “vaccine hesitancy” under videos spreading false vaccine information.

Facebook made a similar announcement regarding video recommendations on Feb. 14. That was after an extensive report from The Guardian about how anti-vaccination conspiracy theories spread in private groups. Rep. Adam Schiff specifically called out Facebook and Google (which owns YouTube) to address anti-vaccination information on their platforms.

Pinterest has actually taken the most definitive action on anti-vaccination content moderation to date. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Pinterest had essentially broken search results for “vaccines”; If someone searched for vaccines on Pinterest, the platform simply wouldn’t deliver results. 

The push to stop the spread of anti-vaccination content comes amidst social media companies’ large efforts to fight misinformation of all types, but particularly regarding politics and social issues. Anti-vaxxer misinformation has not taken center stage in this debate until recently. But with the clear threat to public health that it poses, platforms are beginning to take action.

There’s more to be done in this public health battle, but changing algorithmic recommendations, and cutting off funding sources for these viral videos is a start.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein might be a little too curious about the crime he’s overseeing. Gorenstein will preside over the case of Therese Okoumou, who climbed the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 2018 – only now Gorenstein basically wants to climb it as well.

According to NBC New York, Gorenstein wants “to better appreciate the risks or hazards created by defendant’s conduct.” He filed a court order requesting a ladder and access to the area where Okoumou was found.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most-Clichéd Tourist Photos

Okoumou climbed the Statue on Independence Day after an Abolish ICE protest, but a U.S. Attorney deemed the climbing to be “dangerous and reckless” compared to constitutionally sanctioned peaceable protest.

In a Dec. 2018 hearing, Okoumou said she was deeply affected by the images of children imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the border. Climbing the Statue of Liberty may not have reformed U.S. Border Patrol practices, but it did give Okoumou a bigger platform than before to express her disappointment.

Okoumou’s trial is set for March 5, which gives Gorenstein some time to have his recon order approved. ICE and its discontinuation are expected to be paramount issues leading up to the 2020 election.

Some Microsoft employees feel the company’s business entanglements with the U.S. military aren’t OK, and they want the bosses to know about it.

An open letter to CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith from Microsoft Workers 4 Good makes the position of protesting employees clear: “We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression,” the letter begins.

Specifically at issue is a $479 million “Integrated Visual Augmentation System” contract that Microsoft entered into back in Nov. 2018. As the letter notes, the intent is for the company to “rapidly develop, test, and manufacture a single platform that soldiers can use to Fight, Rehearse, and Train that provides increased lethality, mobility, and situational awareness” against America’s foes.

According to the letter, to meet the terms of IVAS, as the contract is referred to in shorthand, Microsoft is putting its augmented reality platform, HoloLens, to work. Protesting employees believe this “crossed the line” into weapons development.

SEE ALSO: Windows 10 Mobile’s final death shouldn’t be mourned, but celebrated

“The application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to help people kill,” the letter reads. “It will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated ‘video game,’ further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed.”

These employees take issue with Microsoft’s U.S. military commitments, but the bigger problem laid out in the letter is how the company has handled dissent when it comes to those commitments. People who don’t want to do military work are given the option of doing something else inside the company.

That doesn’t solve anything, the letter says. Shuffling employees around “ignores the problem that workers are not properly informed of the use of their work. There are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed, believing it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and cars, to help teach people how to perform surgery or play the piano, to push the boundaries of gaming, and to connect with the Mars Rover (RIP).”

Employees signing the letter have three demands:

1. Cancel the IVAS contract;

2. Cease developing any and all weapons technologies, and draft a public-facing acceptable use policy clarifying this commitment;

3. Appoint an independent, external ethics review board with the power to enforce and publicly validate compliance with its acceptable use policy.

A BBC report notes that “at least 50 Microsoft employees” are already on board with the demands. That’s only a fraction of a fraction of the company’s 130,000-plus workers, to be fair. But there’s been a lot of scrutiny in recent years around tech interests partnering up with the U.S. military, and the letter only first surfaced on Friday.

A Microsoft spokesperson told the BBC: “We always appreciate feedback from employees and have many avenues for employee voices to be heard.”

Microsoft has been teasing a second-generation HoloLens in recent weeks, and is expected to deliver a first look at the new tech on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET, during an event at the annual Mobile World Congress. With a press blitz presumably about to kick off, the timing of this letter and the concerns it raises may put Microsoft on the defensive as its unveiling a brand new product.

Welcome to Small Humans, an ongoing series at Mashable that looks at how to take care of – and deal with – the kids in your life. Because Dr. Spock is nice and all, but it’s 2019 and we have the entire internet to contend with.

If you’re pumping breast milk, what would you pay to not feel quite so much like a literal dairy cow? With the release of a new and improved breast pump, that’s no longer a hypothetical question. 

Despite a built-in customer base thanks to insurance coverage from the Affordable Care Act and a lack of paid maternity leave pushing American mothers back in the workplace as fast as possible, meaningful improvements to the breast pump are few and far between. 

The Willow is the most high-profile entrant into the product category in the past several years. It was a breakout product at CES when it debuted in 2017 with the claim that it was quiet enough to use on a conference call. It’s is a self-contained, battery-powered breast pump that is worn inside a nursing bra under clothes, and damn if it doesn’t look sleek. The difference between it and a Medela breast pump, one of the most popular manufacturers, is similar to that of a minivan versus a sports car. 

But much like the sports car, the Willow pump shines in a few areas and falls flat in others. Some of the product’s flaws are meaningful enough that they, when combined with the high initial price of the product, seriously undermine the case for buying it. For certain use cases – such as frequent travel or pumping in a room without an outlet – it’s probably ideal. But for broad swaths of its intended customers, it falls a bit short. 

You may be asking yourself: “Which of those people am I? Should I buy the Willow? Will it make pumping less horrible?” To which we can only say: Perhaps. A certain amount of horrible is intrinsic to pumping and only some parts of it can be improved. 

But then again, the only way to go with breast pumps is up. Here’s what you should know. 

How does the Willow work?

Unlike most other breast pumps, the motor, suction flanges (the plastic pieces you wear over your breasts), and milk bags  are housed together inside of the pump. The half-egg shaped device is tilted onto the breast and secured with a full-coverage nursing bra or top. There are no tubes running down to bottles or bags and you’re not tethered to a pump that’s connected to the wall. Our tester was able to throw on a sweatshirt, walk around, and read or do dishes. If you’re pumping exclusively, the Willow would keep your hands free to comfort your baby while pumping. 

When you purchase the Willow, you’ll receive two pumps (one for each breast), one of two sizes of flanges, a charger, and an initial supply of bags. Extra bags need to be ordered directly from the company. The corresponding smartphone app lets you monitor the pumping session in real-time, and you’ll specify iOS or Android when you order. 

Setting up the pump was easy, according to our tester, who was a mom going back to work after her second baby and pumping while away from home. The most confusing part is ensuring that your milk goes into the bag correctly, she said, which can take practice. The app is the easiest part to set up.

The initial charge took 15 minutes, but it’s important to remember that only one pump can be charged at a time. You’ll need to go back and switch the charger from one pump to the other, or plan to use one pump for both sides (more on that in a moment). The company says a single charge is good for up to five pumping sessions.

Our tester did run out of batteries during one session and found herself with some milk locked in the pump. A traditional breast pump creates suction with a tube that is separate from the passage where the milk flows, but the Willow uses a “Flextube” that does both. After the user is finished pumping, she’ll flip the pump over and turn it on again to pull the last of the milk from the flex-tube into the bag. If there’s no power, you can’t get the last of the milk out of the pump into the bag.

The tester reported that the pump was comfortable to wear but didn’t always feel attached enough to move around confidently. 

How much does the Willow cost?

The Willow is expensive, starting at $429 for the early “Willow 1.0” model and moving to $499 for the “Willow 2.0,” which will be released in February 2019. The latter includes an extra 48 milk bags. Currently, a 24-pack of bags costs $11.99 for the 1.0 model. 

The milk bags are a place where the Willow’s design forces a high cost to using the pump. The bags have one-way valves and the company touts them as “spill-proof,” but this also means two things: You can’t transfer milk from one bag to another and you can’t reseal them.

With a traditionally-designed breast pump like a Medela or Spectra, you can pump milk into a plastic bottle or a bag. If your milk output from both sides is less than the total volume of one bottle or bag (which was true for our tester), you can combine them and only use one container. You can also reseal a bag or bottle if your baby doesn’t need all of the milk in one feeding. Once you’ve cut open a Willow bag, you’ll need to store any unused milk. 

To put real numbers on this scenario, consider a working mom who pumps 3 times a day and almost never pumps more than 5.5 ounces total in a session. With a Medela pump, she could pump into bottles, pour all the milk into one bag to freeze or store and then reuse the bottles at the next pumping session. She’d need about three bags a day.

Using both Willow pumps simultaneously requires 2 bags every session, with a total capacity of 8 ounces (4oz per bag), much of which won’t be filled. When our tester tried to reuse the half-full bags at her next pumping session, she got an error message from the app that the bags were full – and they were, with air. Removing and reinserting the bags made them vulnerable to being pumped full of air when the pump was turned on. Putting the entire housing in the fridge between sessions didn’t prevent the issue. A Willow consultant told her that some women pump both breasts sequentially with one pump, which uses fewer bags but takes twice as much time. 

Using Willow’s calculator for the above scenario, you’d have to purchase 120 bags per month, costing roughly $60 for every month you pumped. In contrast, Medela bags are listed on Amazon for $14.99 for 100, and you’d need half as many each month, depending on how much milk you express each session.

Another breast pump, called the Elvie, is similar in concept to the Willow but has a reusable receptacle for catching breast milk. That product hasn’t yet been released. 

Data Privacy

Like any app- or internet-connected smart device, the Willow pump (assuming you’re using the app, which is a main selling point), will generate reams of data about its users. Willow’s privacy policy states that among the data automatically collected through the use of the app is “unique device identifier, unique user ID, geo-location, browser type, frequency of use,” and “volume pumped.” It is possible to use the pump without the app.

The company told Mashable in a statement that “At Willow, we take the privacy and protection of our customers very seriously. As our policy states, we do not sell or rent your personal data to anyone.” However, the Willow privacy policy says that data that has been anonymized in some way will not be treated as “personal information.” 

The company declined to clarify how it de-identifies personal information and whether it sells or rents the de-identified data to third parties.  

Speaking about hardware manufactures in the aggregate, Shahid Buttar, the Director of Grassroots Advocacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said that the potential for data to be sold is high. “If the privacy policy leaves open the opportunity for sale of data in the aggregate, I would describe it as likely a matter of time until the company is able to find a buyer,” he said.

The entire concept of “anonymized data” has come under scrutiny as well. Buttar, explained that supposedly anonymized data can often be re-identified later.

“The potential is there. Without seeing the particular manner of aggregation, it’s hard to asses the likelihood of re-identification,” Buttar said. 

Should I buy the Willow?

It can be hard to criticize a product like the Willow and not worry that we’re letting the best be the enemy of the good. Breast pumps urgently need a rethink and initial launches of new hardware products are never going to be cheap. So with all that in mind, we applaud the Willow for what it’s accomplished and hope that it continues to develop and spurs other progress in the space.

But the developments we’ve outlined come at a cost to reliability and ease of use. The penalty for forgetting to charge it is high since you can’t pump and charge at the same time. It’s eligible for FSA/HSA reimbursement and your insurance might cover some of the cost, which would help defray the hefty price tag. 

If you’re a frequent traveler or someone who needs to pump in places without an outlet or semi-public areas, the Willow is relatively discreet. Our tester said the Willow is noticeable under clothes, but it’s a world away from trying to use a traditional breast pump in an airport Starbucks. It’s fully hands-free with a regular nursing bra, so you can comfort a baby, move around, or just relax while wearing it. It’s definitely quieter than classic pumps. 

But the cost of the pump, and the ongoing cost of the bags in particular, will likely be a dealbreaker for many people. We’d be hard-pressed to find a new parent who doesn’t suddenly have lots of competing needs for several hundred dollars worth of breastfeeding supplies for a several-month commitment to pumping. 

Read more great stories from Small Humans:

• Screen time can affect kids, but the data is hard to measure. Here’s why.

• Reminder: Smart toys are cute, cuddly, and full of security risks

• A subscription for baby food? It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

• Being pregnant on the internet sucks

It wouldn’t be awards season without Hollywood taking some healthy distance and noting the year’s worst work in addition to its best. The 39th Golden Raspberry Awards honored identified (convicted?) some of the year’s worst films and performances, including a not-so-fictional on-screen turn by the President himself.

Donald Trump got two Razzies: One for his “performance” in Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9, and one for constantly choosing to work with his “self-perpetuating pettiness” on an international stage. It would be funnier if it weren’t depressing, but isn’t that the tightrope we’ve been walking for two years?

Other winners included the flopped Holmes & Watson, the summer’s raunchy puppet adventure The Happytime Murders, and even two performances from Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy.

For the full list, see below.

SEE ALSO: Where to watch all 53 of the 2019 Oscar-nominated films

WORST PICTURE

Gotti

The Happytime Murders

Holmes & Watson

Robin Hood

Winchester

WORST DIRECTOR

Etan Cohen, Holmes & WatsonKevin Connolly, Gotti

James Foley, Fifty Shades Freed

Brian Henson, Happytime Murders

The Spierig Brothers (Michael and Peter), Winchester

WORST ACTRESS

Jennifer Garner, Peppermint

Amber Heard, London Fields

Melissa McCarthy, The Happytime Murders and Life of the PartyHelen Mirren, Winchester

Amanda Seyfried, The Clapper

WORST ACTOR

Johnny Depp (voice), Sherlock Gnomes

Will Ferrell, Holmes & Watson

John Travolta, Gotti

Donald J. Trump (as himself), Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9Bruce Willis, Death Wish

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Jamie Foxx, Robin Hood

Ludacris (voice), Show Dogs

Joel McHale, Happytime Murders

John C. Reilly, Holmes & WatsonJustice Smith, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Kellyanne Conway (as herself), Fahrenheit 11/9Marcia Gay Harden, Fifty Shades Freed

Kelly Preston, Gotti

Jaz Sinclair, Slender Man

Melania Trump (as herself), Fahrenheit 11/9

WORST SCREENPLAY

Death of a Nation

Fifty Shades Freed

Gotti

Happytime Murders

Winchester

WORST REMAKE, RIPOFF or SEQUEL

Death of a Nation (remake of Hillary’s America)

Death Wish

Holmes & WatsonThe Meg (ripoff of Jaws)

Robin Hood

WORST SCREEN COMBO

Any two actors or puppets (especially in those creepy sex scenes), Happytime Murders

Johnny Depp and his fast-fading film career, Sherlock Gnomes

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (trashing two of literature’s most beloved characters), Holmes & Watson

Kelly Preston and John Travolta (getting ‘Battlefield Earth’-type reviews!), Gotti

Donald J. Trump and his self-perpetuating pettiness, Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9

RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD

Peter Farrelly — From The Three Stooges & Movie 43 to Oscar contender for Green Book

Melissa McCarthy — For following up her dual Razzie winning appearances with her more complex role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Tyler Perry — From Worst Actress winner for Madea to playing Colin Powell in Vice

Sony Pictures Animation — From Worst Picture winner Emoji Movie to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Transformers — From obvious Razzie target to universal acclaim with Bumblebee