James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
UK plan for age checks on porn websites meets with skepticism from privacy advocates
In a move to make the Internet safer for kids, the U.K. government has said it will legally require pornography websites to install methods of age verification by next April. As part of the Digital Economy Act, companies not implementing age verification on their websites could find themselves blocked by Internet service providers. It’s thought ...
Disney is bringing ‘Star Wars’ to augmented reality
“Star Wars” fans may soon know what it’s like to wield a lightsaber, thanks to a new augmented reality game. The company announced at D23, its annual expo, that it’s teaming up with Lenovo Group Ltd. to create a series of AR experiences that will include turning your living room into an intergalactic standoff with rebel ...
Tech giants stage huge protest of FCC plan to quash net neutrality rules, but will it work?
Ever since Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai revealed that rules put in place in 2015 for a free and open Internet will be undone, there has been an almost constant stream of criticism. That criticism reached its boiling point Wednesday. Advocates of present net neutrality rules banded together in what was called a “Day ...
The net neutrality ‘Day of Action’ is upon us, and here’s how it will go down
Net neutrality advocates on Wednesday are holding a “Day of Action,” perhaps their final push to keep the Internet “open, fast and awesome.” The issue of net neutrality, the notion that Internet service providers shouldn’t limit delivery of any content in favor of their own or partners’, has become quite the cause célèbre, a story that ...
Startup visa for foreign entrepreneurs all but killed by Trump administration
A startup visa that was supposed to give foreign entrepreneurs a chance to make it in America was all but quashed Monday by the Trump administration. The International Entrepreneur Rule, which was the brainchild of the Obama administration, should have gone into effect next week. The visa, which was planned to be issued to just ...
The sexbot revolution is on its way, with a murky underside
Humans are about to become much more intimate with inanimate but increasingly capable sex toys. That’s according to a new report published by the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, which charts out a world that will soon go well beyond lifeless vinyl blow-up dolls. The report, “Our Sexual Future with Robots,” details how companies have taken ...
As Tesla factory is labeled a ‘predator zone,’ tech industry scrambles to solve its man problem
A slew of scandals highlighting some of Silicon Valley’s less admirable traits such as its seemingly pervasive “bro culture” has opened a can of worms that for a long time needed opening. Now venture capitalists and others in the Valley are looking for ways to get rid of those creepy creatures altogether. Yet even amid the ...
Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman launch ‘WTF’ platform to reshape the Democratic party
Two Silicon Valley billionaires, Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman, have created an online “People’s Lobby” called Win the Future, or WTF, to help rejuvenate the Democrat party Although some view the move as a vanity project, Pincus, co-founder of Zynga Inc., and Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn Corp., said they want to breathe life back into what ...
Volvo’s self-driving car technology meets formidable foe in Australia’s kangaroo
The Volvo Car Group’s animal detection system in its self-driving car can handle most animals, but the hopping around of Australia’s most famous marsupial is giving the system fits. Volvo said the technology, the “Large Animal Detection system,” had no problems with other animals such as deer or caribou. But after testing in Australia, Volvo ...
Apologies echo around Silicon Valley as women entrepreneurs call out sexual harassment
The sound of the word “sorry” keeps ringing through Silicon Valley following even more allegations of sexual misconduct brought against venture capitalists. Perhaps that’s a sign of progress in the old and young boys club that runs tech’s epicenter. Yet to many, the apologies, such as one from Dave McClure of 500 Startups entitled “I’m a ...
