James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Universal Music is forming a band, made up of very expensive virtual apes
Universal Music Group today said it’s starting a music group made up of four virtual apes that are nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The band, called Kingship, looks very much like what the musician Damon Albarn came up with in the 1990s as a side project to his band Blur. That project was Gorillaz, although unlike ...
DOJ sues Uber over unfair pricing for people with disabilities
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it’s suing the ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. for allegedly overcharging disabled people. Uber charged people with disabilities a two-minute waiting time fee when they couldn’t get to the car within two minutes. The lawsuit claims that Uber’s charging people for this violates the Americans with Disabilities ...
Bipartisan bill aimed at curbing use of engagement algorithms in social media feeds
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill today that would force social media giants to offer a variation of their platforms that don’t come with algorithms that shape the content users see. The bill, called the “Filter Bubble Transparency Act,” is aimed at curbing the use of what the lawmakers said are ...
Google will add third-party payment systems to its app store in South Korea
In what’s a first for the company, Google LLC said today it will open up alternative in-app payments in South Korea. The move is not one that Google preferred to make, but South Korea put its foot down and forced the company to adhere to a new law. South Korea might be the first country ...
Meta introduces new creator tools while taking a dig (again) at Apple’s App Store commissions
Meta Platforms Inc. today announced it’s introducing new incentives for its bonus program for creators, while also telling them they will be able to avoid paying Apple Inc.’s 30% commission on in-app purchases. In a blog post, Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, explained that to help creators grow their audience on the platform ...
Following growing concern, Meta will shut down its face recognition system
After a decade of use, Meta Platforms Inc. announced today that it’s shuttering its face recognition system. That means people’s faces will no longer be recognized in photos and videos that appear on the platform, which Meta said will amount to about 1 billion individual facial recognition templates being deleted. The company said the main ...
Meta details its efforts to take down a troll farm operated out of Nicaraguan government offices
Meta Platforms Inc. announced today that it has taken down 937 accounts tied to the government of Nicaragua and President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista party. Meta, which until last week was known as Facebook Inc., called the outfit a “troll farm,” saying it had violated the company’s policy against “coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) on behalf of ...
Facing more government backlash, Facebook tells staff to preserve internal documents
As legal action against Facebook Inc. looks imminent, the company reportedly has told staff to preserve all internal documents and communications going back to 2016. To say the company has come under some scrutiny of late would be a massive understatement. First, a series of leaks reported by The Wall Street Journal put a spotlight ...
White House names Jessica Rosenworcel to become first female chair at FCC
President Biden today named Jessica Rosenworcel (pictured) as the permanent chair of the Federal Communications Commission, making her the first woman ever to hold the position. In what’s seen as another progressive move, it was announced that Gigi Sohn has been nominated to serve as a commissioner at the FCC. If she’s selected for that ...
‘Facebook Papers’ add up to the social media giant’s biggest challenge yet
A number of U.S. news organizations over the weekend began publishing stories related to thousands of internal Facebook Inc. documents, and they just keep on coming. What the documents reveal is not exactly news that comes out of the blue. They are the basis of the complaints that Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen made to the ...