James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Amazon buys 11 Boeing aircraft to expand its cargo fleet
Amazon.com Inc. announced today that it will purchase 11 used Boeing 767-300s, a first for the e-commerce giant. In the past, Amazon has relied on leasing aircraft. The purchase of the 11 planes, seven from Delta Air Lines Inc. and four from WestJet Airlines Ltd., is a sign of the company’s intention to go it ...
Singapore’s COVID-19 contact tracing app can be used in criminal investigations
Data from Singapore’s widely used COVID-19 tracing app will be available to police for criminal investigations, it was announced today. The government app, called TraceTogether, is currently being used by almost 80% of the country’s population of 5.7 million, making it one of the most-used apps of its kind during the pandemic. Although the country ...
Chinese company that supplies US big tech with products accused of using forced Uyghur labor
Electronics components company Lens Technology Co. Ltd. has been using forced Uyghur labor workers, according to a new report that was published in the Washington Post today. The investigation, which was undertaken by the Tech Transparency Project, found that thousands of Uyghur Muslims mostly from Xinjiang, China, were being forced to work in factories. Lens ...
Twitter POTUS account will start with zero followers for Joe Biden
Following the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, the @POTUS and @WhiteHouse Twitter Inc. accounts will have zero followers, the company announced today. “The accounts will not automatically retain their existing followers,” Twitter said in a statement. “Instead, Twitter will notify followers of these accounts to provide context that the content will be archived and allow ...
Facebook blasts Apple over upcoming data privacy changes
A number of Facebook Inc. ads today criticized Apple Inc. over changes to its upcoming iOS 14 operating system. The full-page ads appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, each carrying the headline, “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere.” That’s a criticism of Apple’s decision ...
Troll farms in France and Russia are trying to influence politics in Africa, according to Facebook
Rival troll networks from France and Russia have been trying to meddle with politics in North Africa and the Middle East, according to a blog post published today by Facebook Inc. Facebook said it had taken down three separate networks for violating the company’s policy against foreign or government interference. The networks were accused of coordinated ...
Pornhub has just removed the majority of its videos
The world’s largest pornography website, Pornhub, has removed millions of unverified videos following a scathing report published earlier in December by the New York Times. That report detailed how the website hosted videos of children, which resulted in the website making some policy changes. Last week, Pornhub said that it would ban downloads and restrict ...
Uber sends letter to US governors asking for COVID-19 vaccine priority
Uber Technologies Inc. today sent a letter to governors in all 50 U.S. states asking for early access to the COVID-19 vaccine for its food delivery and ride-hailing drivers. “Over the last nine months, these workers have been a lifeline to their communities,” Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in the letter. “They have transported healthcare workers ...
VMware announces its 2030 agenda for a more ethical use of technology
Under a model for building an “equitable, sustainable and resilient world,” VMware Inc. today announced its plan to address global challenges over the next decade. “This year has created an even greater sense of urgency to take action on global and societal challenges so we’ve set bold goals that are core to our business and ...
Google says it will look into the controversial exit of AI ethicist
Google LLC Chief Executive Sundar Pichai today told staff he will investigate the exit of an artificial intelligence ethicist following an eruption of denunciation from inside and outside the company. The controversy started when Dr. Timnit Gebru (pictured) announced that she had been fired by Google for speaking out about what she and others view as ...