James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
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. ...
Facebook will reportedly scrap its policy of special treatment for politicians
No longer will politicians get the VIP treatment from Facebook Inc. while the rest of us shmucks face the slings and arrows of the company’s content policies, according to a report in The Verge today. Facebook in the past had turned a blind eye to content posted by politicians even though it may have breached ...
Elon Musk twice violated court order not to tweet about Tesla without lawyer OK
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk twice violated a court order that said his tweets should be vetted before he hit the button, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the sometimes trigger-happy Musk (pictured) had made an agreement back in 2019 in which Musk agreed that any public communications ...
After report on high injury rate at Amazon warehouses, workers get a break on performance metric
Workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s warehouses are nearly twice as likely to suffer a serious injury as people working for other companies in the industry, according to a report published today. The Strategic Organizing Center wrote that while Amazon’s e-commerce business has boomed during the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, it has come at a cost to ...
Amid Palestinian content suppression claims, Instagram makes algorithm changes
Following reports that Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram was censoring pro-Palestinian content, the company says it has tweaked its algorithm. The change, revealed today, comes after Facebook employees as well as Instagram users complained that content related to the recent Gaza conflict was biased against support for Palestine. For the most part, it’s believed the bias was ...