James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Massachusetts high court nixes measure to classify gig workers as independent contractors
The highest court in Massachusetts ruled Tuesday that a ballot measure that would ask voters if ride-hailing drivers should considered independent contractors or full-time employees was unconstitutional. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said that the ballot measure should never have been certified by the state attorney general because it violated state law. The ruling will ...
Microsoft signs agreement with CWA that could make it easier for employees to unionize
As the word “union” rings around the offices of American tech companies, Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has signed a labor neutrality agreement that will help union engagement for employees at the almost-acquired Activision Blizzard. As the deal closes for the gaming giant, Microsoft has said it’s taking a supportive stance where unions are ...
TikTok staff in London are leaving in droves over the ‘toxic’ Chinese work culture
There has been an exodus of TikTok staff at its office in London since it opened late in 2021, with reports saying overwork and comments made by a senior executive sparked the discontent. According to a report in the Financial Times today, Joshua Ma, who’s a senior executive at TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. and ...
A new cryptocurrency bill would treat digital assets as commodities under CFTC oversight
Two senators today introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at reining in the “Wild West” of cryptocurrency trading, putting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the key regulator. The bill’s sponsors are Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, who sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee and Banking Committee, respectively. The “Responsible Financial Innovation Act,” ...
Axon to halt taser drone project after ethics board resigns in protest
The Arizona-based weapons company Axon Enterprise Inc. said on Sunday that it’s no longer going ahead with the development of a taser-equipped drone after most of its ethics board resigned over the matter. The company, which sells weapons technology for the military and the police, had announced the idea of developing such a machine, saying ...
Microsoft says it will offer its support to worker unionization efforts
As talk of unionizing grows among people working in the tech industry, Microsoft Corp. today said it will not stand in the way if its employees go down that road. In a blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith acknowledged that in some countries some employees may want to join a union, adding that if that ...
After 14 years, Sheryl Sandberg bids adieu to Meta
Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced today that she’s leaving the company she helped turn into a global phenomenon. When Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook, he was just 23 years old, and Sandberg (pictured) was 38. She explained in a Facebook post today that back then Zuckerberg approached her at a party and ...
Lawsuit charges Elon Musk manipulated Twitter stock during his takeover bid
Twitter Inc. shareholders filed a lawsuit late Wednesday in a federal district court in San Francisco, accusing Elon Musk of manipulating Twitter’s stock price and benefiting from that during his takeover bid. The lawsuit claims that prior to making the bid, Musk (pictured) failed to reveal that he already had a 5% stake in Twitter. ...
Twitter agrees to pay a $150M fine for deceptive ad targeting
Twitter Inc. settled a lawsuit today with the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, paying a fine that set the social media giant back $150 million. The lawsuit claims that Twitter acted deceptively between 2013 and 2019 when it used users’ phone numbers and emails as a means to target advertising. The information should ...
Walmart is expanding its drone deliveries to reach 4M people in the US
Walmart Inc. announced today that it’s ratcheting up drone deliveries in the U.S., opening a slew of new sites from where packages can be taken by air to customers. The retail giant has been promising drone deliveries for several years, but getting the service off the ground, literally, has been a slow process. Late in 2021, ...