James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Teamsters announces national push to unionize Amazon
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it passed a resolution today to focus on unionizing Amazon across the U.S. In April this year, workers at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, chose not to unionize in what was called a historic union election. If that had gone the other way, it would have been the ...
Bird is bringing a fleet of e-bikes to the streets
Electric scooter and moped hire startup Bird Rides Inc. announced today that it’s releasing a fleet of e-bikes, something that has been in the pipeline for some time. “Shared scooters helped lay a critical foundation for a transportation future that’s both electric and multimodal,” Travis VanderZanden, founder and chief executive of Bird, said in a ...
Facebook’s Audio Rooms and podcasts are now live
Facebook Inc.’s challenge to the audio social network app Clubhouse is off the ground, as the company announced today that its “Live Audio Rooms” is now rolling out in the U.S. In a blog post, Facebook explained public figures, as well as select Groups, will be the first to be given the opportunity to host ...
Facing ongoing lawsuits, Snap says it’s removing its controversial speed filter
After a series of lawsuits were brought against Snap Inc., the company has now decided to get rid of its in-app “speed filter” feature. The filter was simple enough. It showed how fast a person was going in miles and kilometers per hour. The danger with that is that users may take a video of ...
Facebook launches slew of moderation tools, including AI-powered ‘Conflict Alerts’
Facebook Inc. said today it’s bringing a number of new tools to the platform that will help administrators keep things civil in Groups. The platform right now has close to 2.85 billion monthly users, with more than 1.8 billion of them participating in Groups. That can be a headache for the 70 million-plus people who ...
White House names big tech critic Lina Khan as chair of FTC
Lina Khan, an antitrust researcher and longtime critic of big tech’s market dominance, was sworn in today as the new chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. President Biden’s choice comes a day after the Senate voted 69-28 in favor of having Khan (pictured) serve as a commissioner on the FTC. The choice sends a ...
YouTube changes policy for masthead ads, including no politics allowed
Google LLC-owned YouTube said today that political ads including election ads will longer be allowed in its prime masthead spot. The company will also make gambling, prescription drugs, and alcohol ads verboten in the masthead position, telling media that this will improve the experience for users. In view of its efforts quelling public criticism, it’s ...
Google updates its search algorithm to prevent slander and extortion
Google LLC said today that it’s going to do something it has so far shied away from doing: Update its search algorithm. The change was first reported by the New York Times, which said that one of the reasons for the update was its own articles on people who have been slandered online and extorted. ...
Hundreds involved in global organized crime arrested in elaborate chat app sting
More than 800 people have been arrested in 18 countries after law enforcement from various countries got together to perform what has been called an “unprecedented” sting. The sting, an operation that was the brainchild of the FBI and Australian police that goes back to 2018, certainly warrants that accolade. Reports today state that after ...
Apple Health will now let users share data with others
Today Apple Inc. announced myriad new products at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, but an especially big focus was on the iPhone’s health app. One of the new features for Apple Health will be the ability for users to share information with family members, doctors or anyone else they trust with the rather sensitive data. ...