James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
TikTok’s CEO has a plan to prove to Congress the app poses no danger to Americans
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will meet with the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Thursday, and he’s probably going to have a difficult time convincing the politicians that his app deserves to stay in America. Following in the footsteps of some of social media’s biggest players, Chew (pictured), like them, will try ...
TikTok CEO addresses American users in video as pressure mounts on the company
As the TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew prepares for his grilling in front of Congress this Thursday and bad news comes from Europe, he made a video today reminding Americans how great TikTok is. Speaking from Washington, he talked about the 150 million users of the app in the U.S., including “5 million businesses.” ...
Meta executive working in Greece was hacked by ‘Predator’ spyware
A dual U.S.-Greek national working for Meta Platforms Inc. was surveilled by surveillance-for-hire software for around one year, it was reported today. At the time, Artemis Seaford was in Greece working as a trust and safety manager on Meta’s security policy team. Why she was hacked is unclear, but it’s now certain that her phone ...
LinkedIn is now implementing ChatGPT to help users with profiles and job postings
Microsoft Corp.-owned LinkedIn has become the latest platform to embrace the recent AI boom, announcing today that it has begun “leveraging the most advanced OpenAI GPT models.” This comes as no surprise since Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI LP. LinkedIn has, of course, been using artificial intelligence in one way or another for a ...
Victory bells sound for Uber and Lyft as California court confirms drivers are contractors
A California court ruled today that ride-sharing apps can continue treating their drivers as independent drivers, upholding the state’s controversial Proposition 22. Prop 22 was a ballot initiative put to voters in California in 2020 that would make it so drivers working for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. would be classified ...
WhatsApp tells the UK it would rather be blocked than adhere to the Online Safety Bill
Meta Platforms Inc.’s chat app WhatsApp says it will not compromise end-to-end encryption, and since that’s required in the U.K. under the new Online Safety Bill, it might mean the end of its existence in the country. Will Cathcart, Meta’s WhatsApp boss, said today that he will not weaken the app’s encryption, so if he ...
TikTok introduces Project Clover to allay Europe’s spying concerns
The Chinese social media app TikTok announced today that it’s introducing a new data security plan to address Europe’s fears that the app might be spying for the Chinese Communist Party. The move comes just as the White House backed a new Senate bill that might spell the end of the app in the U.S. ...
FTC is investigating Elon Musk over Twitter Files and Twitter Blue
The Federal Trade Commission has been asking Twitter Inc. to hand it internal communications regarding a number of issues that have happened after Elon Musk took the reins, the Wall Street Journal reported today. According to that report, the agency has been hounding Twitter since Musk took over, sending multiple emails in an attempt to understand the ...
TikTok ban looking more likely as senators push through bipartisan bill
Two U.S. senators said today that sometime this week, they will introduce a new bill that would make it easier to “ban or prohibit” foreign technology in the U.S., which, if endorsed by the administration, could spell the end for the popular Chinese social media app, TikTok. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Virginia, has ...
Microsoft tones down Bing’s AI chatbot and gives it multiple personalities
After Microsoft Corp.’s Bing Chat went off the rails shortly after its introduction, the company has now reined in the bot and given users a selection of personalities they can choose from when chatting with it. Millions of people signed up to use Bing powered by Open AI LLC’s ChatGPT when it first became available, ...