James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
LinkedIn hit with $334M fine for violating GDPR
The Microsoft Corp.-owned professional networking platform LinkedIn has been ordered to pay €310 million ($334 million) by the European Union’s privacy regulator over targeted advertising practices, one the biggest fines to hit American big tech under the General Data Protection Regulation. The fine was imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission, the bloc’s privacy watchdog ...
Apple and Goldman Sachs ordered to pay $89 million after Apple Card failures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB, announced today it’s fining Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs $89 million over practices involving the Apple Card. CFPB says hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users were affected when the two companies “illegally mishandled transaction disputes and misled iPhone purchasers about interest-free payment options.” Apple has now been charged ...
Thousands of creatives join forces to combat AI data scraping
Some of the biggest names in the creative arts have added their names to a letter addressing what for them is the growing problem of the unlicensed use of creative works for AI training. The signatories call data scraping a “major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be ...
Meta will employ facial recognition technology to fight celebrity scam ads
Meta Platforms Inc. today said it’s in the process of testing new facial recognition technology to help reduce the number of “celebrity bait” ads that appear on the company’s social media platforms. The company explained that when an ad is suspected of being a scam, it will be flagged by technology already in use. Since ...
Meta announces layoffs across several divisions for abusing meal credits
Meta Platforms Inc. has been cutting jobs in various divisions, including letting 24 go from Instagram and Facebook for abusing the company’s $25 meal credit system. In the latter case, it’s reported that the transgressors had not been spending their lunch credits on food, but were buying household items such as toothpaste, laundry detergent and ...
FTC makes canceling subscriptions less of a pain with ‘click to cancel’ rule
The Federal Trade Commission today announced its new “click to cancel” rule, which will make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. Getting out of subscriptions is notoriously annoying, usually taking much more effort than it took to join. From media subscriptions to gym memberships to cable TV services, ...
US and UK join forces in ‘historic agreement’ to tackle child safety online
The U.S. and U.K. governments today announced they’re creating a joint children’s online safety working group in an effort to find “common solutions” to the issue of child safety online. “As more children across the U.S. and around the globe have access to online platforms for online learning and social media, there is also increased ...
Russian rampage against US tech continues with ban of Discord
Russia’s communications regulator has banned the instant messaging platform Discord for violations of Russian law, adding to a growing list of American tech firms whose services are now restricted in Russia. “The access to Discord is being restricted in connection of violation of requirements of Russian laws, compliance with which is required to prevent the ...
Coalition of US attorneys general goes after TikTok for ‘wreaking havoc’ on children’s mental health
A bipartisan group of more than a dozen state attorneys general filed lawsuits today against the Chinese social media app TikTok, claiming it’s causing a multitude of problems where children’s mental health is concerned. The suits, each filed individually but led by the attorneys general of New York and California, accuse the platform of violating ...
Texas AG sues TikTok over breach of new child safety law
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a lawsuit against the social media giant TikTok for allegedly sharing the personal data of young people, a violation of the state’s new child safety law. That law, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, or SCOPE, is part of a wider push by U.S. politicians to ...