James Farrell

James Farrell is the former editor-in-chief of Chiang Mai CityNews, where he wrote and managed daily news, features, op-eds and blogs on a diverse range of topics. Prior to this, in the same city of Northern Thailand where he lives, he was the longstanding deputy editor of the monthly magazine Citylife. He has written on culture, politics, travel, tech, business, human rights, for local, national, and international news services and magazines. He has a keen interest in the role technology is playing in the transformation of society, culture and politics, especially in developing nations. This is reflected in his not-so-successful first novel.

Latest from James Farrell

EU gives green light to Microsoft’s $7.5 billion ZeniMax acquisition

The European Union has approved Microsoft Corp.’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media Inc., the parent company of videogame publisher Bethesda Softworks. Microsoft said it was going to buy ZeniMax back in September, but the company still had to get the approval of both U.S. and E.U. regulators. Now the deal looks set, following a ...

Arizona House passes bill to let app makers use their own payment processing

In what could have major consequences for Google LLC and Apple Inc., the Arizona House of Representatives voted 31-29 today to advance a bill that would let app makers create their own payment processing systems. If HB 2005 becomes law, it will force companies that have app stores that see more than a million downloads a year ...

Facebook Oversight Board wants access to the company’s algorithm

A former Guardian editor who’s on Facebook Inc.’s Oversight Board said today that the board now wants to get a better understanding of the company’s algorithm for which posts run on its News Feed. Talking to the House of Lords communications and digital committee and later quoted by the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger said he and ...

Twitter introduces strikes system to crack down on vaccine misinformation

Twitter Inc. announced today that it’s expanding its efforts to reduce the amount of dubious COVID-19 vaccine-related content appearing on the platform. In a blog post, the company revealed that from now on, when tweets appear that appear to contain false or misleading information about vaccines, labels will appear stating that. Twitter may also provide ...

Twitter considers a makeover with plans to offer a raft of new features

Twitter Inc. may have not changed much over the years, but today the company announced some new features that could give its users quite a different experience. During the its Analyst Day, the company revealed that it will introduce a feature called “Communities” that’s much like Facebook Inc.’s Groups feature. “We’re working to create a ...

YouTube will introduce supervised content for tweens and teens

Google LLC-owned YouTube announced today that it’s rolling out a new feature aimed at youngsters too old for YouTube Kids. For years YouTube met with criticism after it was revealed young children were watching content that was adult in nature. The company has since introduced a dedicated kids’ channel and also created policies to protect ...

Microsoft supports tech firms paying European media for content as Facebook cuts deal with Australia

Updated: Microsoft Corp. announced today that it’s joining a coalition of European media publishers in an effort to ensure they get paid for content shared online. The move comes after Microsoft gave its support for what’s now being called the Australia model, legislation in the country that will force companies such as Google LLC and ...

Pundits weigh in on Facebook’s Australian news outage

Following Facebook Inc.’s decision to block users from viewing or sharing Australian news, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he won’t back down from implementing the new media law, a decision that has drawn criticism as well as plaudits. This morning Australians woke up to find that they were unable to read Facebook pages of ...

YouTube soon will launch Shorts, its version of TikTok, in the US

TikTok is about to get some stiff competition: Google LLC-owned YouTube announced today that it will release “Shorts” in the U.S. in the coming weeks. “Every year, increasing numbers of people come to YouTube to launch their own channel,” the company said in blog post that listed a slew of YouTube updates. “But we know ...

France calls for EU to give countries more power to punish big tech

France is reportedly pushing to expand regulations that would give European Union member states more power to punish large tech companies’ bad behavior. The changes France wants to see concern the Digital Services Act, proposed legislation that was designed to reduce anticompetitive behavior by tech companies and provide more online protections for consumers. If companies are ...