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TECHNOLOGY Monday 6 March 2017

Yelp to help customers find gender-neutral bathrooms

DAVID CRARY sought to integrate a social
AP National Writer issue into its website and
NEW YORK (AP) — Yelp, app.
the crowd-sourced com- “The hope is that this fea-
pany specializing in online ture gets business owners
reviews, is wading into the thinking about how they’re
national debate over trans- presenting themselves —
gender people’s bathroom who they’re supporting
access with a new feature and why,” Williams said.
that will enable consumers “Maybe it will start some
to search for businesses of- conversations.”
fering gender-neutral rest- She said the idea for the
rooms. new feature came from
In a blog post on Friday , employees in Yelp’s prod-
Yelp said it would collect ucts section who were “in-
information from both cus- censed” by efforts in some
tomers and business own- parts of the U.S. to curtail
ers in order to add a “Gen- transgender people’s civil
der Neutral Restrooms” rights.
category to its listings. Yelp On Thursday, Yelp was
defines such restrooms as among 53 U.S. companies
locking, single-stall toilet fa- filing a friend-of-the-court
cilities accessible to people brief with the U.S. Supreme In this Feb. 21, 2017, file photo, White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks during the daily
of any gender. Court supporting trans- press briefing at the White House in Washington.
“At Yelp we thrive on inclu- gender teen Gavin Grimm Associated Press
sion and acceptance,” the in a lawsuit against his lo- Along with Yelp, busi- tions, teachers’ unions and that some students might
blog post said. cal school board in Vir- nesses supporting the brief other groups. have about sharing bath-
Rachel Williams, Yelp’s ginia’s Gloucester County. included Airbnb, Apple, The conservative legal rooms and locker rooms
head of diversity since No- Grimm wants to use the eBay, IBM, Microsoft, Pay- group Alliance Defending with transgender school-
vember 2014, said the initia- boys’ bathroom at his high Pal, Tumblr and Williams- Freedom, which filed a brief mates.
tive, to be phased in over school, saying it matches Sonoma. Similar briefs were supporting the Gloucester Oral arguments in the case
several weeks, marked the his chosen gender; the filed by religious leaders, County school board, criti- are scheduled for March
first time during her tenure board’s policy prohibits him major medical associa- cized the 53 companies for 28, although the school
that the company had from doing so. tions, civil rights organiza- disregarding the concerns board is seeking a delay.q
Hackers drawn to energy sector’s lack of sensors, controls

HOUSTON (AP) — Oil and weaknesses when they Houston police patrolled to link computer networks est oil companies — includ-
gas companies, including find them,” said Marty the waters southeast of to devices that monitor ing Exxon Mobil Corp. and
some of the most celebrat- Edwards, director of U.S. Houston last year conduct- pressure or control valves ConocoPhillips, refiner Phil-
ed industry names in the Homeland Security’s Cy- ing sweeps for unprotected have exposed opera- lips 66 and pipeline opera-
Houston area, are facing ber Emergency Response wireless signals that hackers tions to online threats.“You tor Kinder Morgan — de-
increasingly sophisticated Team for industrial systems. could use to gain access to could mess with a refinery clined to comment or did
hackers seeking to steal Homeland Security, which facilities. The operation was or cause a vessel to ex- not respond to multiple
trade secrets and disrupt is responsible for protect- one of the first of its kind in plode,” Richard Garcia, a requests for comment. The
operations, according to a ing the nation from cyber- the U.S. concentrating on former FBI agent who be- American Petroleum In-
newspaper investigation. crime, received reports of cyberattacks by sea.But came a cybersecurity spe- stitute, the national trade
A stretch of the Gulf Coast some 350 incidents at en- the vast network of oil and cialist, told the Chronicle. association for oil and gas,
near Houston features one ergy companies from 2011 gas operations makes it dif- Power, chemical and also declined to comment.
of the largest concentra- to 2015, an investigation by ficult to secure. Thousands nuclear facilities must ad- Charles McConnell, ex-
tions of refineries, pipelines the Houston Chronicle has of interconnected sensors here to strict cybersecu- ecutive director of Rice
and chemical plants in the found. Over that period, and controls that run oil rity measures, but federal University’s Energy and En-
country, and cybersecurity the agency found nearly and gas facilities remain law doesn’t impose such vironment Initiative, said
experts say it’s an alluring 900 security flaws within U.S. rife with weak spots.Many standards on the oil and oil companies tend to rush
target for espionage and energy companies, more companies the technology gas sector. And when oil to deploy new computer
other cyberattacks. than any other industry. and personnel to detect and gas companies have technologies that make
“There are actors that are Steps are being taken hackers. Equipment was been infiltrated by a hack- operations more produc-
scanning for these vul- to thwart attacks. For in- designed decades ago er, they’re not required to tive, but only afterward
nerable systems and tak- stance, the Coast Guard without security features, report the incident.More considering ways to defuse
ing advantage of those in a joint operation with and efforts over the years than 20 of the nation’s larg- online threats.q