James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Social media is ripping apart society, says former Facebook executive
Facebook Inc.’s former vice president for user growth has admitted he now feels bad for what he helped create, saying social media is “ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.” “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth,” said Chamath ...
YouTube is about to launch a music streaming service to rival Apple and Spotify
YouTube will launch a music streaming service next March, according to report published today by Bloomberg. The service will tentatively be called Remix. YouTube’s parent company Alphabet Inc. hasn’t officially announced anything, but people familiar with the move told Bloomberg that Warner Music Group is already on board. YouTube is also in talks with Sony ...
As rival Uber licks its wounds, Lyft self-driving car hits the streets in Boston
Lyft Inc. just nudged itself into the future after picking up passengers in Boston in one of its autonomous vehicles. Alas, human drivers were there for safety precautions, but the move puts Lyft on the self-driving map along with its major rival, Uber Technologies Inc. The car was developed by the startup NuTonomy, which together with ...
No prizes for Donald Trump in Twitter’s annual review
President Donald Trump, perhaps in recent times Twitter Inc.’s most controversial user, might be disappointed to find out that this year his tweets were less popular than the former president of the U.S. On Tuesday, Twitter released its yearly data and it was revealed that former President Barack Obama was the most retweeted man in ...
Facebook opens new London office, bringing 800 jobs to the capital
Facebook Inc. announced on Monday the opening of a new London office, bringing in 800 new jobs and doubling its employee count in the U.K. The move has been called a vote of confidence in the U.K. despite Brexit, which saw Britain leaving the European Union. Facebook has said that about half the jobs will be ...
Australia probes impact of Facebook and Google on traditional media
Australia’s competition regulator began a probe Monday into how Google LLC and Facebook Inc. have disrupted media in the country. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been asked by the government to look at the impact the aforementioned companies and other digital platforms are having on traditional media and to ascertain the damage it ...
Report: Multiple women accuse investor Shervin Pishevar of sexual misconduct
Prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist and early Uber Technologies Inc. investor Shervin Pishevar has been accused of sexual misconduct by five women, according to a report published by Bloomberg on Thursday. Pishevar, who is managing director of Sherpa Capital, is also co-founder of Hyperloop-one (now Virgin Hyperloop One), and served as board observer at Uber for four ...
Supreme Court considers limiting ‘Big Brother’ tracking of mobile data by police
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering imposing stricter limits on police to track American citizens’ movements as a landmark case raises concerns over potentially oppressive surveillance. The high court heard arguments today on the case in question, Carpenter v. The United States, which has provoked doubts regarding the privacy of the American public in the ...
Facebook and Twitter to share info about possible Russian meddling in UK politics
Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. will provide information to the U.K. government to determine if Russian-backed organizations used the Internet to spread misinformation relating to the vote on Brexit. The companies agreed to provide the information following a request by the U.K.’s head of digital, culture, media and sport committee, Damian Collins. The request was ...
YouTube hikes efforts to stamp out creepy videos aimed at children
Following numerous reports on how decidedly creepy content aimed at children is getting past YouTube’s filters, the video platform has once again vowed to take action. The videos in question depict real children’s cartoon characters, such as Peppa Pig, involved in vulgar or violent acts. The videos masquerade as content suitable for kids and find ...
