James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Meta’s threat report includes Chinese COVID-19 disinformation campaign
Meta Platforms Inc. released its last threat report of the year today, with the company saying it discovered a China-based network that spread lies relating to the origin of COVID-19. The disinformation campaign goes back to July this year when a Facebook post by a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards criticized the U.S. government. “WHO ...
Twitter will no longer allow sharing of photos and videos without a person’s consent
Twitter Inc. announced today that it has updated its safety policy to include banning the sharing of “private media” without the person’s consent. The company said in a blog post that the sharing of such media has been used in the past to target women, dissidents, activists and minorities. Policies have always been there to ...
China has a new surveillance system for journalists, foreign students and ‘stranded women’
The Chinese province of Henan will start using a new surveillance system for journalists, international students and other “suspicious” people, according to a report published by Reuters today. Reuters, which has seen documents talking about the system, said there will be a “traffic light” classification for those people spotted. A red light classification is the ...
Tech companies face hefty fines if they don’t adhere to EU’s new political ads law
In an effort to prevent political ads from undermining elections, the European Union today announced a new law that will create more transparency around such ads. In a press release, the EU said with the aim of “protecting election integrity and open democratic debate” it will now require that political ads come with a clear ...
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri to appear before Congress on app’s safety
Adam Mosseri, chief of Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Instagram, will be grilled by the Senate in December, his first time in that particular hot seat. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will lead the hearing, in which a bipartisan panel will ask the Instagram boss questions about the safety of the app for children. This matter has become a ...
Italian watchdog hits Apple and Amazon with fine over sale of Beats headphones
Italy’s antitrust watchdog has fined Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. around €200 million ($225 million) for breaching antitrust laws over the sale of Beats headphones. Beats Electronics was founded in 2006 by music producer Dr. Dre and the record company executive Jimmy lovine, partly because of low-quality devices on the market at the time. In ...
Walmart will now start sending goods to people’s homes by drone in Arkansas
If you live close to Walmart Inc.’s store in Farmington, Arkansas, you may soon receive your first delivery via drone. The retail giant announced today that it has teamed up with DroneUp LLC, a Virginia-based startup that focuses on drone technology. The partnership will mean its drone engineers will ensure the packages arrive at the ...
US states to investigate harm Instagram does to young people
A bipartisan group of U.S. state attorneys general has begun an investigation into Instagram, it was announced today. So far it looks as though nine states are on board. The investigation comes on the back of recent news that Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., knew that its Instagram app was causing mental harm to ...
Major UK supermarket chain becomes first to use Amazon’s cashierless technology
J Sainsbury PLC, the second-biggest grocery store chain in the U.K., will become the first in the country to open a store using Amazon.com Inc.’s Just Walk Out technology. According to Bloomberg, which first reported the story today, the AI-powered store will open on Nov. 29 in London. On its own website, Sainsbury’s calls the ...
Meta battles its first major lawsuit since changing name from Facebook
Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., was hit with a lawsuit today over the allegation that the company knew the harms its algorithm caused to the public and yet did nothing about it. The suit comes on the back of a series of exposes pointing to myriad issues at Meta, one of them being that the company was ...