James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Activision Blizzard will pay $18M to settle sexual harassment lawsuit
A California judge today approved an $18 million settlement for gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc. in a sexual harassment case that led to scores of employees walking out of the company in protest. In 2021, the company, which publishes well-known titles such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft,” came under the spotlight as ...
Researchers say deepfake accounts are making the rounds on LinkedIn
A new report says fake accounts with computer-generated faces are now a thing on the professional networking website, LinkedIn. Renée DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory, who had made a name for herself in the past analyzing Russian disinformation campaigns online, said she began the research after she came across a profile on the website ...
EU agrees on new law that could alter the dominance of big tech
The European Union today agreed on new laws that are intended to break up the monopolies of big technology companies. The “Digital Markets Act” will address such power by putting laws in place that will affect messaging services, online advertising, digital stores, user privacy, e-commerce and just about all areas of how technology companies do ...
Arizona becomes first state to support driver’s licenses and state ID inside Apple Wallet
Owners of an iPhone in the state of Arizona will now be able to upload their driver’s license and state ID to the Apple Wallet, it was announced today, and it will soon become available in other U.S. states. “Starting today, Arizonans can add their driver’s license or state ID to Wallet and tap their ...
Russian court bans Meta, calling Facebook and Instagram ‘extremist’
A Russian court today ruled that Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Instagram apps are both “extremist” and should be banned in Russia. Russia had already blocked the platforms earlier in the month. Prosecutors then said they were seeking to designate Meta as an “extremist organization” following a surprise move by Meta to allow hate speech ...
Australian consumer watchdog files lawsuit against Meta over shady crypto ads
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. for a number of dubious cryptocurrency ads that appeared on the Facebook platform, some of which that led to Australians losing large amounts of money. The suit claims that Meta deceived and misled its users by “publishing ...
Meta takes down deep fake video of Ukrainian president telling his people to surrender
Meta Platforms Inc. today said it has removed a deep fake video that had been circulating on the web that shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling people to lay down their arms and go back to their families. The video first appeared on the Ukrainian news website for TV24, a service that says it was ...
Meta says it’s no longer fair game to call for Putin’s assassination on Facebook or Instagram
After Meta Platforms Inc. surprised a few people last week by saying it would allow calls for violence against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the company today said it has reversed this decision. Last week, Meta announced that it was issuing a “spirit-of-the-policy” notice that would mean people in certain countries would be allowed to call ...
Russia opens criminal case against Meta after it allows language calling for violence against Russian troops
Updated: Russia today opened a criminal case against Meta Platforms Inc. after the owner of Facebook and Instagram Thursday said it will allow calls for violence on the Facebook and Instagram platforms if it’s related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian prosecutors are seeking to designate Meta as an “extremist organization” and said it’s ...
Sony and Amazon join other tech firms in shutting down operations in Russia
Sony Corp. today joined the parade of other large tech companies in pausing some of its businesses in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The arm of the company that takes care of the Playstation business, Sony Interactive Entertainment, said today that it’s halting all hardware shipments to the country and will for now not ...