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

Millions of EU gig workers could get employment rights under new proposal

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

A proposal written by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, aims to give traditional employment rights to gig workers across the EU. What that could mean, under the proposal announced today, is that millions of contract workers, some of them working for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., could by law ...

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri tells Congress how the app can be a ‘positive force’ in young people’s lives

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

Instagram Chief Executive Adam Mosseri sat in front of U.S. senators today to explain why the app isn’t as harmful to children as many people are saying. In his opening speech, Mosseri (pictured) said he believes the app could be a “positive force” in children’s lives, which seems to go directly against leaks that showed ...

Ahead of Adam Mosseri’s date with Congress, Instagram announces new protections for kids

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

One day before Instagram Chief Executive Adam Mosseri is scheduled to be grilled in front of U.S. senators, the company has announced changes to the app aimed at placating some of its critics. Mosseri is meeting with Congress after a slew of negative news hit Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Instagram. A series of leaks this year ...

DoorDash will start hiring actual full-time employees

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

San Francisco-based food delivery company DoorDash Inc. announced today it will try something rather novel, and that’s to hire full-time workers on top of its gig workers. The company said it’s setting up an “ultra-fast” grocery delivery service in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea, which is part of its DashMart delivery service. This ...

Meta’s threat report includes Chinese COVID-19 disinformation campaign

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

Meta Platforms Inc. released its last threat report of the year today, with the company saying it discovered a China-based network that spread lies relating to the origin of COVID-19. The disinformation campaign goes back to July this year when a Facebook post by a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards criticized the U.S. government. “WHO ...

Twitter will no longer allow sharing of photos and videos without a person’s consent

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

Twitter Inc. announced today that it has updated its safety policy to include banning the sharing of “private media” without the person’s consent. The company said in a blog post that the sharing of such media has been used in the past to target women, dissidents, activists and minorities. Policies have always been there to ...

China has a new surveillance system for journalists, foreign students and ‘stranded women’

EMERGING TECH - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

The Chinese province of Henan will start using a new surveillance system for journalists, international students and other “suspicious” people, according to a report published by Reuters today. Reuters, which has seen documents talking about the system, said there will be a “traffic light” classification for those people spotted. A red light classification is the ...

Tech companies face hefty fines if they don’t adhere to EU’s new political ads law

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

In an effort to prevent political ads from undermining elections, the European Union today announced a new law that will create more transparency around such ads. In a press release, the EU said with the aim of “protecting election integrity and open democratic debate” it will now require that political ads come with a clear ...

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri to appear before Congress on app’s safety

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

Adam Mosseri, chief of Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Instagram, will be grilled by the Senate in December, his first time in that particular hot seat. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will lead the hearing, in which a bipartisan panel will ask the Instagram boss questions about the safety of the app for children. This matter has become a ...

Italian watchdog hits Apple and Amazon with fine over sale of Beats headphones

POLICY - BY JAMES FARRELL - 5 YEARS AGO

Italy’s antitrust watchdog has fined Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. around €200 million ($225 million) for breaching antitrust laws over the sale of Beats headphones. Beats Electronics was founded in 2006 by music producer Dr. Dre and the record company executive Jimmy lovine, partly because of low-quality devices on the market at the time. In ...