James Farrell
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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 ...
Twitter blasts Indian government for ‘intimidation tactics’
Twitter Inc. criticized the Indian government today over a freedom of speech issue just days after police turned up at the company’s offices. What elicited the criticism was law enforcement walking into Twitter’s Indian office and serving a notice to the company for the alleged transgression of mislabeling a post from the ruling Bharatiya Janata ...
Facebook announces big changes to suppress dubious news spreaders
Facebook Inc. today announced two major changes to its social network, one to hide users who continually share misinformation and another an option for viewers to hide Like count on posts. Currently, if users share misleading content about crucial topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic or matters relating to national politics, that post will likely come ...
Amazon stung with antitrust lawsuit filed by Washington DC attorney general
A lawsuit was filed today by Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine that accuses the company of anticompetitive practices. “Amazon’s online retail sales platform benefits from, and is protected by, Amazon’s anticompetitive business practices,” said the lawsuit. It claims that the company’s large market share of U.S. online sales leads to higher prices for the ...
Florida governor signs bill to block social media platforms from booting politicians
In a bid to prevent social media behemoths from banning politicians, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill today that will prevent them from doing so. Senate Bill 7072 is a response to former President Donald Trump being blocked from using the platforms of Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., as well as Google-owned YouTube. Soon ...
Following an investigation, Twitter admits its image cropping algorithm is biased
Twitter Inc. today revealed the results of an internal investigation into its image cropping algorithm, following accusations that it’s biased. In April this year, the company announced that it would conduct an analysis regarding its machine learning algorithms and whether they may cause unintentional harm. The investigation was called the “Responsible Machine Learning Initiative.” Part ...
Amazon still won’t make its facial recognition software available to police anytime soon
Amazon.com Inc. announced today that it’s extending a moratorium that forbids police from using the company’s controversial facial recognition software. Last year, Amazon place a one-year moratorium on police to block them from using the technology, coming at a time when other technology companies either said they wouldn’t sell their own similar product or stopped ...
Tesla is under review by the DMV for claiming ‘full self-driving’ capability
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is reportedly investigating Tesla Inc.’s claims regarding its vehicles’ full self-driving capabilities. Regulators will try to ascertain if the company has falsely promoted the feature, possibly putting people’s lives at risk. The scrutiny comes after accidents in such vehicles, as well as people showing themselves in videos in their ...
Google gets hit with $123 million fine in Italy for anticompetitive behavior
Italy has slapped a 102 million euro ($123 million) fine on Google LLC for abusing its market dominance. The Italian Competition Authority said today that the company had violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union by preventing the release of an Italian-made app. “Google holds a dominant position allowing ...
Chinese firm Xiaomi exits the US government’s blacklist
Xiaomi Corp. and the U.S. government have made up and the company has now been taken off the blacklist, it was reported today. The Chinese electronics giant was accused during the Trump presidency of being “owned or controlled” by the Chinese military and therefore a threat. At the time, many U.S. pundits expressed surprise at ...