James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Dozens of attorneys general tell Facebook to scrap plans to launch Instagram for kids
Forty-four state attorneys general have signed a letter urging Facebook Inc. not to go ahead with its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13. The letter, which was published online today, talked about the “detrimental” effects social media can have on young people, saying that children of that ...
Twitter introduces Tip Jar, a way to make money from tweets
Twitter Inc. announced today that it’s now testing a tipping system called Tip Jar that will allow users to send money to the accounts that impress them with certain tweets. Earlier this year, Twitter laid out plans for a number of changes that would let people make money from their accounts. One of the ideas ...
Trump remains banned on Facebook after review, and he’s not happy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump will not be back on Facebook anytime soon after the social network giant’s Oversight Board decided today to uphold his suspension. However, the board criticized Facebook for handing down a ban that was wasn’t permanent but didn’t have a timeline. It called the ban an “indeterminate and standardless penalty,” giving Facebook ...
Twitter buys Scroll, and news aggregator Nuzzel is on its way out
Twitter Inc. announced today that it’s acquiring web content reading platform Scroll, which will mean Scroll’s popular news aggregator service, Nuzzel, will be no more. Scroll charged users a $5-a-month subscription fee for delivering content that came without ads and any other distractions. Publishers in turn received cash from Scroll in an effort to get ...
Twitter Spaces, a rival to Clubhouse, is now available to users with 600+ followers
Twitter Inc. announced today that Spaces is ready to go, mounting a challenge to a slew of similar apps such as Clubhouse that have taken off recently. The audio-based conversation feature can be used by both iOS and Android users not as a standalone app but built into the Twitter platform. The company has been ...
EU OKs law to make tech companies take down terrorist content in less than an hour
The European Union announced today that it has approved a law to require technology platforms to flag and take down terrorist-related within one hour or face hefty fines. “The new regulation will target content such as texts, images, sound recordings or videos, including live transmissions, that incite, solicit or contribute to terrorist offenses, provide instructions ...
Facebook admits hiding posts asking India Prime Minister Modi to resign
Indian Facebook Inc. users today lashed out at the company after they found that any posts featuring a hashtag asking for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were hidden. When people tried to post content asking for the man to step down, they received a message saying that the post was hidden to keep ...
Spotify’s podcast subscription service may pose serious challenge to Apple Podcasts
Spotify AB today announced it’s launching a paid podcast subscription service, something that may look more enticing to anyone thinking about using Apple Inc.’s similar product. In a blog post today, Spotify said the product will be available first to select podcasts in the U.S., but the plan is to roll it out globally in ...
Lyft is selling its self-driving car unit for $550 million to Toyota’s Woven Planet
Lyft Inc. announced today that it’s selling its self-driving car unit Level 5 for $550 million to Woven Planet, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Co. Some $200 million will be paid upfront, while the rest of the cash will be paid over a period of five years. The deal follows in the tracks of Uber ...
Apple plays down AirTags stalking concerns
Apple Inc. said today that there’s no need to worry about stalking in a response to fears regarding its new AirTags. This week Apple introduced a slew of new products, including the said AirTags. At first sight, they appear to be a very useful piece of technology. The tags are small and can be attached ...