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

Facebook and Twitter take down fake Russian accounts ahead of US election

As the U.S. election season enters its stretch run, Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. announced today that they have removed hundreds of accounts linked to so-called bad actors in Russia. Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, said in the blog post that coordinated inauthentic behavior had been discovered on the platform. The accounts were ...

Facebook says it won’t pull out of EU after all but insists something must change

After a court document this week suggested Facebook Inc. might be forced to close its business in the EU, the company now says it’s not going to happen. Earlier this month, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission stated that its investigation found that Facebook wasn’t substantially protecting EU users’ data from the prying eyes of the U.S. ...

YouTube to exploit artificial intelligence to enforce age restrictions

Google LLC-owned video site YouTube announced today that it will introduce more advanced AI to ensure younger people aren’t watching videos designed for an older audience. Up until now, the company has asked creators to put age restrictions on their videos, with some content being flagged by the algorithm only if it is found to ...

Facebook says it could be forced to leave EU over data regulation

Facebook Inc. says it might have to pull its services from countries in the European Union if it can’t transfer data to the U.S. Earlier this month, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission announced that after an investigation it found that Facebook users in Europe did not have substantial protection from U.S. government surveillance. It said the ...

Facebook to impose restrictions on staff talking about politics and social issues

Facebook Inc. told employees today that it will introduce new restrictions on what social and political issues staff can discuss. According to reports, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told staff during a weekly employee Q&A session that new rules will be introduced, although the exact nature of those rules won’t be announced until next week. The move ...

Amazon to open 1,000 delivery hubs in the US

Amazon.com Inc. is setting itself up to challenge competitor Wal-Mart Stores Inc. even more by opening small delivery hubs throughout the U.S. Bloomberg reported today that people with familiar with the matter say the company at first will open 1,000 stores in cities dotted all over the country, but that number will increase to 1,500. The aim ...

Before year ends, Facebook could be hit with FTC antitrust lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc., according to an article published today by The Wall Street Journal. According to people familiar with the matter that spoke to the Journal, the case revolves around Facebook’s dominance as a social media company. It’s part of a broader investigation into tech firms ...

Facebook launches a social network for college campus students

Facebook Inc. announced today that it has gone back to its roots and developed a new social network only to be used on U.S. college campuses. The network, called “Campus,” will have a News Feed, Groups, an events section and a group chat rooms called “Campus Chats.” Students will also have access to a directory ...

Ireland orders Facebook to quit transferring European data to the US

Facebook Inc. should not be sending European data to the United States, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission announced Wednesday. A recent inquiry has led regulators to believe that the transfer of such data does not protect users from U.S. government surveillance. If Facebook is deemed to be breaking European data protection laws, it could be fined 4% of ...

China launches global data security plan, calls a certain country a ‘bully’

China announced a data security initiative today, saying it aims for it to become a global standard. State Councilor Wang Yi (pictured) said the program will mean China will not ask Chinese companies to yield data from other countries that could be in breach of those countries’ laws. The plan also asks participating states that ...