James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Both Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. reported Monday that they have removed a number of Chinese government-backed accounts engaging in inauthentic behavior. In a post Twitter announced that it had taken down a total of 936 accounts originating in the People’s Republic …
YouTube sued by LGBTQ creators for discrimination
LGBTQ creators are suing Google LLC because they say their content has not been fairly treated on the company’s video website YouTube. According to a story in the Washington Post Thursday, there are eight plaintiffs in total, who each say that their …
Facebook changes Groups privacy settings and vows crackdown on extreme content
Privacy settings for Facebook Inc.’s Groups are changing to make things simpler, the company announced on Wednesday. The social media giant said that from now on public, closed and secret group settings will either be just public or private. The administrators of …
Facebook has been listening to and transcribing Messenger voice chats
People who have voice-chatted on Facebook Inc.’s Messenger app might have had their conversation listened to and transcribed, according to a report published by Bloomberg today. The company has admitted that it did indeed hire third-party contractors to listen to clips but …
Whole Foods workers demand Amazon break ties with ICE
A group of employees from Whole Foods signed a letter Monday asking that its parent company Amazon.com Inc. break all ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The letter by the grocery chain, which was acquired by Amazon for $13.7 billion in 2017, was …
Microsoft contractors have been listening in to private Skype calls and Cortana commands
Real-time conversations on Microsoft Corp.’s Skype are sometimes listened to by contractors, according to an investigation by Motherboard published Wednesday. Internal documents, screenshots and audio recordings acquired by Motherboard reveal that personal conversations were sometimes eavesdropped on by human staff in order …
Accused of bias against conservatives, Google draws Trump warning
U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed a salvo of tweets aimed at Google LLC Tuesday, stating that there was a conservative bias at the company, among other things. Trump also had words for Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, whom he said in a …
Memo at Google claims discrimination against pregnant women
An internal memo that circulated around the offices of Google LLC last week claims that the company discriminated against a pregnant woman. The memo, titled, “I’m Not Returning to Google After Maternity Leave, and Here is Why,” was seen by more than 10,000 …
Facebook cracks down on Saudi, UAE and Egypt misinformation campaigns
Facebook Inc. has cracked down on a misinformation campaign involving Saudi and other Middle Eastern authorities on its platform, the company said Thursday. Accounts linked to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt as well as Saudi Arabia, have been involved in what Facebook …
Lyft takes its e-bikes off the streets after some catch fire
As if Lyft Inc.’s year couldn’t get any worse, the company this week had to pull its electric bicycles off the streets of San Francisco after some of them exploded in flames while being used. The bikes, known simply as Lyft bikes, …