James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Tesla introduces new software update 10.0, with movies, music and more
Tesla Inc. announced Thursday its “biggest software update ever,” designed in part to make driving more entertaining. The Software Version 10.0 will roll out to Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars, although those who have the fully self-driving capability in their car will get the update first. Those updates for the most part ...
FTC sues Match Group for allegedly tricking lovelorn customers
Tinder parent company Match Group has found itself in deep water after the Federal Trade Commission accused the company of conning its customers into buying subscriptions. “The Federal Trade Commission sued online dating service Match Group Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake ...
Amazon is now testing ‘virtual healthcare’ for its employees
Amazon.com is continuing to make waves in the healthcare market, as CNBC revealed Tuesday that the company is now offering virtual healthcare as a pilot project to its employees. Employees in Seattle as well as their families now have access to something called “Amazon Care.” If those people have an Amazon health insurance plan and work in ...
Amazon’s Echo can now help describe grocery items to the visually impaired
Amazon.com’s virtual assistant just got more intelligent after the company revealed Monday that the visually impaired can now ask it what they are holding. The new feature, called “Show and Tell,” enables customers who are blind or people with low vision to hold an item in front of first- and second-generation Echo Show devices and ...
YouTube imposes stricter rules for verified channels
A lot of YouTube channels could find themselves without the much-sought-after verification badge after the company announced Thursday that it will introduce stricter regulations on what meets the requirement for verification. “We’ve updated the eligibility criteria for verification badges on YouTube,” YouTube said. “This change is to help viewers distinguish the official channel of a ...
US social media giants meet with Congress on spread of extremist content
Facebook Inc., Google LLC and Twitter Inc. were called to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for another grilling, this time to discuss how extremist content and hate speech can be combated on their platforms. Representing the tech firms were Facebook Head of Global Policy Management Monika Bickert, Twitter Public Policy Director Nick Pickles and Google Global ...
Facebook cracks down on extremism and terrorist organizations
Facebook Inc. has made a number of changes to combat extremists and terrorism on its platform, the company announced Tuesday. In a blog post today, Facebook said it has initiated a number of updates throughout the year that haven’t been widely discussed, and this week other updates have been implemented. These changes fall under the “Dangerous Individuals ...
Facebook lets advertisers change news headlines
As Facebook Inc. clamps down on the spread of disinformation on its platform, it still allow advertisers to change news headlines, according to a report by CBC Monday. That could be confusing for the consumer, who may believe the headline was the creation of the publisher and not the advertiser. An example given was a ...
Google has changed its algorithm to boost original reporting
Articles that contain “original reporting” will be elevated in Google LLC’s search rankings from now on, the company announced Thursday. The change should be good news for journalists, with Google saying its team of human reviewers will also scan the deluge of stories in an attempt to find good journalism among more dubious articles. “An ...
FTC to investigate Amazon’s marketplace on antitrust issues
Investigators from the Federal Trade Commission have started an investigation in Amazon.com’s marketplace, according to a report published by Bloomberg Wednesday. According to other recent reports, this current investigation is part of a wider probe into big tech and how some companies might be stifling competition. Speaking at a conference Tuesday, Bilal Sayyed, the FTC’s director ...