James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Facebook bans posts supporting protests that violate social distancing
Facebook Inc. said today that it will take down posts that promote protests the violate social distancing rules that have been imposed in various states. This week there have been COVID-19 anti-quarantine rallies all over the U.S., with some of those rallies talking about “revolution” in the country. Health experts have advised people not to protest ...
Facebook actively searching for people who interacted with COVID-19 misinformation
Facebook Inc. announced today that it will start notifying people if they have engaged with misinformation regarding COVID-19. Although information and research pertaining to the novel coronavirus changes daily and not all scientists agree on various aspects of the disease, that’s not what Facebook seems to be interested in. What the company is more concerned ...
Amazon under more scrutiny after firing two workers who spoke out about safety conditions
Amazon.com Inc. has fired two workers in a Seattle-based facility after they both criticized the company over safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report today. The Washington Post said the two workers, Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, had been highly critical of how Amazon had dealt with the crisis at their facility, although according ...
UK’s National Health Service working with Apple and Google on contact tracing app
Britain’s National Health Service is now working with Apple Inc. and Google LLC in creating technology to track citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced today. Speaking at a news conference, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the use of a contact tracing app could help to reduce the number of infections and the country ...
Uber expands its Eats service for hungry homebound workers
Uber Technologies Inc. is diversifying during the present global pandemic crisis, announcing Wednesday that it’s vastly expanding its food delivery service, Uber Eats. The company said Uber Eats will soon be available in 20 new countries, with the service starting in Brazil, Canada, France and the U.K. This is not the consumer-focused Uber Eats, but part ...
Amazon faces more COVID-19 strikes, but business is booming
While many people in the U.S. are staying at home and quarantining, Amazon.com Inc.’s orders are skyrocketing, according to a New York Times report today. The problem with that is that Amazon’s warehouses have recently seen a reduction of workers in part because of the coronavirus. In all of its 500 facilities, there have been 50 ...
Amazon announces new strategy to cope with COVID-19 amid scandal over fired worker
Amid waves of criticism for how Amazon.com Inc. has dealt with the spread of coronavirus, the company said on Thursday that big changes are on the way. Amazon told Reuters that starting next week it will start giving face masks and temperature checks to all its warehouses workers in the U.S. and Europe. Amazon-owned Whole ...
Amazon may face legal action for firing worker who led Staten Island facility walkout
Amazon.com Inc. has been called “disgraceful” in its decision Monday to fire an employee who led a strike at the Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center. There has been at least one COVID-19 infection at the facility, although workers took to the streets saying there could be at least 10 others and the company needed to ...
Twitter gets tough on coronavirus misinformation, takes down post from Rudy Giuliani
Twitter Inc. has clamped down on the spread of coronavirus misinformation surfacing on its platform, which has lately led to the removal of posts from prominent figures. On Friday, the company removed a tweet from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The tweet in question supported the use of ...
Privacy concerns arise after more governments start using tracking data to fight coronavirus
Governments around the world are increasingly using location data and other digital technologies to monitor the movements of their citizens. In the European Union, privacy must be respected in line with the General Data Protection Regulation. That means mobile operators have been sharing location data with the authorities, although that data must be anonymous and ...