James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Facebook content moderators are demanding a safer working environment
More than 200 moderators who work for Facebook Inc. in various countries have signed an online letter published today asking that the company allow them to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter, which was sent to Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, was also addressed to the CEOs of ...
Facebook and Twitter CEOs defend their companies before Congress
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey said Tuesday they’re open to changes being made to a controversial federal internet law as both men faced a number of questions on various topics from Democrats and Republicans. Both men agreed that Section 230, a statute in the Communications Decency Act that ...
Twitter hires renowned hacker as head of security
Twitter Inc. confirmed today that its new head of security will be the well-known hacker Peiter Zatko, aka “Mudge.” According to Reuters, which first reported the hire, Zatko has been asked to deal with the spread of misinformation on the platform as well as protect Twitter from security breaches. He will report directly to Chief ...
Top White House cybersecurity official expects to be forced to resign
As President Donald Trump purges those he deems disloyal to him, a top cybersecurity official has said that he’s next in line to go. Chris Krebs, the director of Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has told colleagues that he believes he’ll soon be asked to resign, according to various news outlets ...
Facebook and Google extend political ad ban as Trump refuses to accept defeat
Facebook Inc. announced today that its ban on political ads will stand, a move the company said will prevent the spread of misinformation. Facebook said in a blog post that since U.S. election results are taking longer this time because of the Covid-19 pandemic and massive mail-in votes, it has introduced some policies to prevent confusion and ...
Walmart partners with Cruise in a pilot for self-driving car delivery service
Walmart Inc. and General Motors Co. subsidiary Cruise LLC have agreed to partner on a self-driving delivery service in Scottsdale, Arizona, it was announced today. In April, Walmart launched its “Express Delivery” service, which is now available in more than 2,800 stores. The company has said that during the Covid-19 pandemic it saw an increase in ...
EU introduces stricter rules on selling surveillance technology
The European Union said today that it has introduced tighter rules regarding the sale of surveillance technology such as facial recognition and spyware. New regulations mean companies will have to secure licenses from governments to sell such technologies. Companies will also be expected to assess the possible human rights abuses that could occur from using the tech. ...
Facebook and Twitter scramble to combat election misinformation
Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. have had their hands full over the last 48 hours trying to combat the spread of misinformation about the U.S. election. Today, Facebook removed a group called “Stop the Steal” that supported President Trump’s claim of corruption in the counting of ballots. Facebook said the group was promoting a “delegitimization of ...
Voters in Portland, Maine say no to facial recognition technology for police
Voters in Portland, Maine, have voted for a ban on facial surveillance software being used by authorities, the Bangor Daily News reported Tuesday. “An Act to Ban Facial Surveillance by Public Officials in Portland will ban the city of Portland and its departments and officials from using or authorizing the use of any facial surveillance software ...
How social media companies will deal with the election night and beyond
With election night looming, social media platforms say they’ve stepped up efforts to ensure their platforms are not exploited by bad actors. Since there are so many mail-in votes this time around, it’s even more certain that the counting of votes will take some time. During the downtime, there could be some amount of chaos, so ...