James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Facebook’s new most ‘Widely Viewed’ content report: Don’t stop the presses
Facebook Inc. today published its first report on what people on the platform look at the most, at least in the U.S., and the result is underwhelming. The move in is line with criticism the company has faced over transparency issues, as well as the fact Facebook has been called out for promoting inflammatory and sometimes ...
Social media companies face new challenges with the Taliban
Following the Taliban’s taking of Kabul and effectively gaining control of Afghanistan, social media companies are having to deal with a novel problem: Should they allow the Islamist group to post content on their platforms? Facebook Inc. doesn’t see the Taliban as just another government, calling the group a terrorist organization. For that reason, it ...
Tinder is making ID Verification available to users globally
The Match Group-owned dating app Tinder announced today that its ID Verification feature will be available to all users around the world. Tinder didn’t specify exactly when this will happen, only that it will be in “coming quarters.” The feature has been available since 2019 in Japan, where it is the law, although in the ...
TikTok becomes next social media company to introduce new child safety features
ByteDance Ltd.-owned TikTok today announced some changes regarding safety for teens, following other social media companies that have recently done the same. This comes as new regulations from the U.K. under the “Age Appropriate Design Code” will come into effect next month. It’s likely other countries will soon follow suit, while in the U.S. politicians ...
US senators target Google and Apple app store dominance with new bill
A bill introduced to the Senate today could disrupt the dominance that Google LLC and Apple Inc. have in the app store domain. The bipartisan “Open Apps Market Bill” aims to “promote competition and reduce gatekeeper power in the app economy, increase choice, improve quality, and reduce costs for consumers.” The bill was sponsored by ...
Google will add a slew of new child protection features for search and YouTube
Google LLC today announced some new features for its search engine and also for YouTube in an attempt to make children’s online experience safer. In a blog post today, the company said it will now give users under the age of 18 the ability to request any images of themselves be hidden from search results. ...
Apple tries to clear the air over its CSAM photo-scanning child protection technology
After a torrent of criticism hit Apple Inc. last week, the company today defended its new CSAM system to scan devices for illegal child sexual abuse materials. When the company announced a few days ago that it will introduce scanning technology to flag such images saved in iCloud in the U.S., the move wasn’t exactly ...
Privacy advocates raise concern over Apple scanning iPhones for child abuse images
Apple Inc. will now scan iPhones and iCloud in the U.S. for illegal images of children, a move that has worried privacy advocates. According to the Financial Times, which first reported the news today, a technology called neuralMatch will be introduced. It will scan devices and when it flags images of what it detects as ...
After staff walkout, Activision President and HR boss step down
Following protests last week over sexual harassment claims, today Activision Blizzard Inc.’s President left the company, followed by the head of human resources. The walkout last week came after the game publishing giant was sued by the state of California for allowing a culture of sexual harassment to permeate the company. Prior to that, a ...
Twitter teams up with the AP and Reuters to address misinformation
Twitter Inc. announced today that it has begun a new partnership with the Associated Press and Reuters in a collaborative effort to tackle the spread of misinformation. The company explained in a blog post that up until now its curation team has been responsible for adding to topics that are “noteworthy, controversial, sensitive, or may contain ...