James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Facebook suspends accounts linked to Russia that targeted African nations
Facebook Inc. reported today that it has removed a number of Russian-backed accounts it said were targeting countries in Africa with misinformation. In a blog post, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said there was coordinated “inauthentic” behavior spreading misinformation in Madagascar, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, ...
Man runs for California governor to post false ads on Facebook, which says: No, you aren’t
A California resident on Monday registered as a candidate for the governor of the state with the intent of exploiting Facebook Inc.’s controversial ad policy for politicians, but Facebook has apparently stopped him in his tracks. The man in question, Adriel Hampton, has no intention of actually becoming governor, but it seems he is concerned ...
Facebook employees sign joint letter against political advertising policy
In an open letter sent to Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and other top executives, hundreds of Facebook employees said they were unhappy with the company’s decision to allow politicians to say anything they want, true or not, in their ads. Facebook has taken steps to prevent the spread of disinformation on the run-up ...
TikTok video app could pose a national security risk, say US senators
Chinese-owned video app TikTok should be investigated by intelligence officials for potentially harmful data collection, two U.S. senators said Wednesday. Their request first became known on Thursday, with The Washington Post reporting that a letter had been sent to Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, from senators Chuck Schumer and Tom Cotton. They ...
Google denies it’s spying on its own employees through Chrome extension
Employees at Google LLC have accused the company of developing an internal surveillance tool to spy on its own employees, something Google “categorically” denies. The news was first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday after it obtained a memo that outlined how top Google executives had ordered that a Chrome browser extension be developed with the ...
Facebook pledges $1B to create affordable housing in SF Bay Area
In an effort to address the rising cost of housing, Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it will pledge $1 billion in areas where it operates to create affordable units. The company wrote in a blog post that it will build 20,000 housing units for middle- and lower-income households for “essential workers” such as nurses and teachers, ...
Facebook removes scores of inauthentic accounts, one targeting US 2020 election
Facebook Inc. revealed Monday that it had taken down a number of inauthentic accounts, with at least one of the operations trying to interfere with the U.S. 2020 presidential elections. In a blog post, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said it appears that the operation focusing on the election was likely the work of ...
Privacy concerns dog Google’s new Pixel 4 phones: Closed eyes can unlock it
When Google LLC came up with its face unlock system for its the Pixel 4 and 4 XL phones, it said the technology should be used across all Android devices. Maybe not so much anymore. In an article published by the BBC today, it was revealed that the system has perhaps a fatal flaw: The ...
FCC approves merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, but the deal still faces opposition
The $26.5 billion deal between Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. has finally been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. For a long time it looked like the deal wouldn’t go through, even though it was given the green light from the Department of Justice in July. The two companies were told this year that ...
Twitter outlines how it will handle world leaders who violate its terms
Twitter Inc. published a blog post today that explains what will happen if world leaders violate the platform’s rules, and it’s likely they won’t please much of anyone. The company said that this is new ground being covered, not mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump, a man who some people feel has stepped over the line on ...