Highlights of the week of July 1-7
Source: Ahsan Zafeer, GameRant
MrBeast has once again found himself in the middle of the hype. This time, the blogger gave away 100 houses to low-income families. At the same time, Greece and Spain decided to introduce rather controversial laws.
Greeks can work six days a week
Greece passed a new labor law this week that establishes a six-day work week. This comes at a time when many other countries are successfully implementing a four-day work week.
Law 5053/2023, passed by Parliament last fall, stipulates that an employee cannot work more than eight hours on an extra day, according to the official government gazette. For working on the sixth day, the employee will receive a 40% premium. The law was originally expected to come into effect in the spring, but was postponed due to concerns that such an innovation could affect the election results.
The government attributes the need to introduce a six-day week to population decline and a shortage of skilled workers. In addition, the establishment of rules for the six-day week will help combat informal employment and increase workers' incomes.
The new law applies to companies that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and to those that use heavy shift schedules due to unexpected increases in workload. Employers must notify the Labor Inspectorate of the introduction of the sixth working day.
The most unpleasant part of the whole story is that, according to Eurostat, the residents of Greece already work the most in the EU: in 2022 they were at work on average 42.8 hours a week. At the same time, the average income of the country's residents is 15th in the EU.
Spain has come up with a passport for 18+ websites
Officially called Cartera Digital Beta (Digital Wallet Beta), the app unveiled in Madrid on Monday will allow Internet platforms to verify whether a user is 18 or not. Fans of pornography will have to use the app to confirm their age. Once confirmed, they will receive 30 "porn credits" with a one-month validity period, allowing access to adult content. Additional credits can be requested as needed.
While the tool has been criticized for its complexity, the government argues that the credit-based model is more privacy-friendly because it avoids tracking users' online activity.
The system will be available by the end of the summer and will remain voluntary, as online platforms can use other age verification methods to block underage viewers. The initiative anticipates an EU law that will come into effect in October 2027 that will require websites to block minors from accessing pornography.
Editor's Note
The assumption is that the law will not work as intended, since none of the adult sites will agree to implement an additional user authentication system. Should we expect some kind of multi-step verification system from portals whose main security mechanism is now the question "Are you 18?"
We should expect such sites to introduce authorization through an identity card, albeit a virtual one, since anonymity is the key factor of their existence. A successful hack of the database and a huge amount of information will become the subject of blackmail.
As for the EU law, of course the portals will adopt it. Most likely, they will even introduce some kind of nominal age verification system, but given the above argument, it is unlikely that this system will be reliable.
Otherwise, sites may face a huge exodus of visitors who do not want to sacrifice anonymity. This in turn will lead to financial losses. Of course, this will not affect those resources that already have a subscription-based monetization model and have users' credit card information. They will easily implement additional authentication because they are already established in the market.
MrBeast donates houses
Famous youtuber MrBeast has announced that he has built and donated 100 houses to families in need. This project is part of his ongoing efforts to use his platform for social impact through charity and community development. In a recent video, which has been viewed over 36 million times, MrBeast detailed the project, including site selection, construction challenges, and the emotional reactions of the families.
MrBeast has previously been known for his charitable initiatives, such as giving away $10,000 to a homeless man and paying for cataract surgeries for 1,000 blind people. One of his most popular videos, which has been viewed over 424 million times, featured a contest based on the TV show "The Squid Game" with a $456,000 prize and, unlike the TV show, the contestants remained unharmed.
The real estate project demonstrates the potential of digital philanthropy, where content creators use their platforms for social change. While such initiatives are admirable, they also attract criticism because viewers may feel that their contributions are limited to watching rather than actively participating in solving problems.
In fact, MrBeast, who was recently named the #1 youtuber on the planet, is one of the few creators who uses almost all of his considerable income to create new content. And that content is often really noble and helpful. This, by the way, is one of the arguments of the blogger's haters, who accuse him of hypocrisy and multi-million dollar contracts for creating the image of an honest and kind person.
