James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Amid growing competition, Chinese bike-sharing pioneer Ofo sued for $10.2 million
Chinese bike-sharing pioneer and industry leader Ofo Inc. is being sued to the tune of $10.2 million for unpaid bills as competitors take a toll on the company’s profits. The Beijing-based outfit got off to a flying start after it was founded in 2014, soon deploying legions of bikes in around 250 cities in 20 ...
Twitter asks for more transparency from users buying ads related to political issues
In its ongoing efforts to improve the Twitter Inc. experience and curtail the actions of “bad actors,” the company will now ask anyone posting about issues related to public policy to verify their location and identity. In a blog post Thursday, Twitter said the move was a “U.S.-specific Issue Ads Policy and certification process” and ...
Facebook Watch is now available worldwide, with incentives for video creators
Facebook Inc.’s Watch video platform is now global after launching in the U.S. in August last year. The service, which is touted as Facebook’s answer to YouTube, can now reach billions of people across the globe. Nonetheless, reports suggest that it hasn’t quite been a raging success in the U.S. since its inception. One study found ...
Donald Trump says Google hides positive news about him; Google begs to differ
President Donald Trump has taken another stab at what he believes is a too left-leaning monopoly of tech firms, this time accusing Google LLC of rigging its search results to hide positive news about him. In a series of tweets last week, Trump denounced private tech companies for what he called the unfair “censorship” of ...
YouTube rolls out new features to help users see how much time they spend there
Google LLC-owned YouTube Monday introduced new features in line with “digital wellbeing,” letting users see just how much time they’ve spent watching videos. “Our goal is to provide a better understanding of time spent on YouTube, so you can make informed decisions about how you want YouTube to best fit into your life,” YouTube said ...
Google takes down content it says is related to Iranian misinformation campaign
Google LLC is cracking down on the spread of misinformation, removing 39 YouTube accounts this week that it says were run by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. In a blog post Thursday, Google said bad actors were involved in “hacking and influence campaigns.” The move came days after Facebook Inc. culled hundreds of accounts, pages ...
Walmart launches its own e-book and audio book store
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched its own digital bookstore Wednesday, further moving into new markets and ratcheting up competition with fellow retail giant Amazon.com Inc. In January, Walmart partnered with Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc., launching an online grocery delivery service in Japan and also offering e-readers, e-books and audiobooks to American customers. Rakuten bought Canadian ...
As Facebook faces new critiques, it starts to rate its own users’ reputations
Facebook Inc. has come under more fire after a recent study from the University of Warwick has revealed where the platform is being used more, there are more hate crimes. As reported in the New York Times Tuesday, the study looked at 3,335 anti-refugee attacks in Germany over a two-year period. Researchers scrutinized each community ...
Responding to criticism, Apple removes 25,000 apps from China App Store
Apple Inc. has pulled as many as 25,000 apps from the China App Store after the country’s state-run media accused the company of not doing enough to clamp down on illegal apps. According to a report in Bloomberg late Sunday, Chinese media, including China Central Television, said gambling apps were available in the store, some of ...
President Trump vents over social media ‘censorship’
Following the controversial Silicon Valley crackdown on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, President Donald Trump has raised concerns over what he believes is unfair “censorship.” In a series of tweets Saturday, Trump said that such censorship, a term more properly applied to government actions rather than those of private companies, is aimed more at “Republican/Conservative voices” ...