James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Lawmakers criticize Meta for its part in fomenting violent division in the US
A group of Democratic senators has sent a letter to Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to express their concern about his company’s seeming inability to stop misinformation from spreading on his platform – especially when tensions run high in America. The letter, dated Dec. 21, was signed by 13 senators in total, and ...
OnlyFans founder steps down, replaced by the company’s marketing chief
Tim Stokely, the founder of the content subscription service OnlyFans, announced today that he’s relinquishing his position as chief executive and will be replaced by marketing chief Amrapali Gan. Stokely took to Instagram today to make the announcement. He said he never could have imagined that a venture he started running out of his brother’s ...
Meta bans spying firms who targeted 50,000 users
Meta Platforms Inc. announced today that it has banned seven surveillance companies from its platforms for possibly targeting about 50,000 users. In a report, Meta said those 50,000 users will soon receive warnings that surveillance-for-hire companies may have focused their “malicious activities” on them. These companies, Meta said, often create fake accounts and scrape information ...
Google memo to employees: Get vaccinated or risk getting fired
If Google LLC’s employees refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19, they will first be told to take some leave and eventually let go, according to an internal memo published today and obtained by CNBC. The memo that was sent to staff apparently came from higher-ups at the company. It told staff that they had to ...
UK watchdog says it’s time to do something about Google and Apple mobile ‘duopoly’
The U.K.’s main competition watchdog said today that Google LLC and Apple Inc. have a “vice-like grip” on the mobile market, something that needs to be changed soon. The Competition and Markets Authority or CMA said both companies are stifling any form of competition in the market, which in the end likely increases costs for ...
President Biden signs executive order to improve government services
The Biden administration signed an executive order today to modernize and streamline government services. The order will affect 17 different federal agencies, so it should make life easier for Americans filing taxes, claiming Social Security, waiting in long lines at the airport, applying for a new passport, starting businesses, paying back student loans and more. ...
Millions of EU gig workers could get employment rights under new proposal
A proposal written by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, aims to give traditional employment rights to gig workers across the EU. What that could mean, under the proposal announced today, is that millions of contract workers, some of them working for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., could by law ...
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri tells Congress how the app can be a ‘positive force’ in young people’s lives
Instagram Chief Executive Adam Mosseri sat in front of U.S. senators today to explain why the app isn’t as harmful to children as many people are saying. In his opening speech, Mosseri (pictured) said he believes the app could be a “positive force” in children’s lives, which seems to go directly against leaks that showed ...
Ahead of Adam Mosseri’s date with Congress, Instagram announces new protections for kids
One day before Instagram Chief Executive Adam Mosseri is scheduled to be grilled in front of U.S. senators, the company has announced changes to the app aimed at placating some of its critics. Mosseri is meeting with Congress after a slew of negative news hit Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Instagram. A series of leaks this year ...
DoorDash will start hiring actual full-time employees
San Francisco-based food delivery company DoorDash Inc. announced today it will try something rather novel, and that’s to hire full-time workers on top of its gig workers. The company said it’s setting up an “ultra-fast” grocery delivery service in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea, which is part of its DashMart delivery service. This ...