James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
EU court to decide Tuesday if ‘right to be forgotten’ online applies worldwide
The European Court of Justice will make a ruling Tuesday that could profoundly impact the public’s right to access information online. Fifteen judges will decide whether people have “the right to be forgotten” regarding what information can be found when searching their name online. The right means that if someone can prove that searchable information is “inaccurate, ...
Jack Ma to step down as chairman of Alibaba next year
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced Monday in China that Jack Ma will be replaced as chairman of the company a year from now. On Sept. 10, 2019, current Chief Executive Daniel Zhang will succeed Ma (pictured), although Ma will remain on Alibaba Group’s board of directors until its annual general meeting of shareholders in 2020. Ma ...
Alex Jones and Infowars kicked off Twitter for good
Twitter Inc. permanently banned Alex Jones and his show Infowars Thursday, just a month after a Silicon Valley purge left the pugnacious agent provocateur with few places left to publish online. Shortly after that, Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey explained that his platform was not following suit because Jones had not violated Twitter’s terms of ...
Social media on trial: what Facebook and Twitter execs said to Congress
Facebook Inc.’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Inc.’s Jack Dorsey took their seats on Capitol Hill today for a long grilling over their respective platforms. As expected, the topics covered mostly related to how the platforms can be manipulated by “bad actors” hoping to influence American voters before and during election campaigns and also sow the ...
What Facebook and Twitter will say to Congress this week
In an expanded grilling ceremony for tech giants, Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will testify before Congress starting Wednesday. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will question the pair over issues related to the influence bad actors might have concerning meddling with U.S. elections and public policy. ...
British broadcasters want social media mammoths policed by government watchdog
Some of Silicon Valley’s leading tech firms are out of control, says a conglomeration of the U.K.’s top broadcasters, and something needs to be done about it. In a joint letter Sunday to The Telegraph, broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, BT and TalkTalk said content that appears on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is not regulated ...
Amid growing competition, Chinese bike-sharing pioneer Ofo sued for $10.2 million
Chinese bike-sharing pioneer and industry leader Ofo Inc. is being sued to the tune of $10.2 million for unpaid bills as competitors take a toll on the company’s profits. The Beijing-based outfit got off to a flying start after it was founded in 2014, soon deploying legions of bikes in around 250 cities in 20 ...
Twitter asks for more transparency from users buying ads related to political issues
In its ongoing efforts to improve the Twitter Inc. experience and curtail the actions of “bad actors,” the company will now ask anyone posting about issues related to public policy to verify their location and identity. In a blog post Thursday, Twitter said the move was a “U.S.-specific Issue Ads Policy and certification process” and ...
Facebook Watch is now available worldwide, with incentives for video creators
Facebook Inc.’s Watch video platform is now global after launching in the U.S. in August last year. The service, which is touted as Facebook’s answer to YouTube, can now reach billions of people across the globe. Nonetheless, reports suggest that it hasn’t quite been a raging success in the U.S. since its inception. One study found ...
Donald Trump says Google hides positive news about him; Google begs to differ
President Donald Trump has taken another stab at what he believes is a too left-leaning monopoly of tech firms, this time accusing Google LLC of rigging its search results to hide positive news about him. In a series of tweets last week, Trump denounced private tech companies for what he called the unfair “censorship” of ...