Articles by Barbara Ortutay

In Reversal After NYC Transit Exit, Twitter Restores Free Access for Public Services

In an about-face, Twitter says it has restored free access to a key tool for verified government and “publicly owned” services so they can tweet weather, transit and other alerts after New York City’s transit agency said earlier this week …

‘Tape or Chewing Gum:’ Twitter’s Lapses Echo Worldwide

From fire departments to governments, from school districts to corporations, from local utilities to grassroots organizers around the world, Twitter at its best is a tool to get a message out quickly, efficiently, directly. It’s also a constant risk-and-reward calculation. …

Livestream Tech Firms Learn Hard Lessons from Violent Videos Tied to Mass Killings

These days, mass shooters like the one now held in the Buffalo, New York, supermarket attack don’t stop with planning out their brutal attacks. They also create marketing plans while arranging to livestream their massacres on social platforms in hopes …

Texas Sues Facebook Parent Meta Over Facial Recognition

The Texas Attorney General is suing Facebook parent Meta, saying the company has unlawfully collected biometric data on Texans for commercial purposes, without their informed consent. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit Feb. 14 in a state district court …

Facebook Loses Backers for Its Libra Digital Currency But Could Still Proceed

Facebook faces a rough road ahead with Libra, but defections by high-profile partners are still unlikely to spell the end for the digital currency. On Friday, Visa and MasterCard announced their departures from the Libra project, as did e-commerce giant …

Why Publishing Policies Against Workplace Sexual Harassment Is Not Enough

Sexual misconduct happens at work not because companies don’t publish anti-harassment policies, experts say, but because managers don’t enforce them โ€“ and because people fail to apply them to themselves. While the floodgates on reporting abuse and sexual harassment have …

California-based Uber Loses Officials, Faces Major Changes

Freewheeling Uber faces major change. Its board is cracking down, its founder and CEO is stepping away indefinitely, and the company itself is coming to grips with measures intended to reform its toxic culture and aggressive business practices. And it …

Google, Facebook, Twitter Sued by Father of Victim of Paris Terrorist Attack

The father of a young woman killed in the Paris massacre last November is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter, claiming that the companies provided “material support” to extremists in violation of the law. Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter Nohemi was among …

IBM’s ‘Internet of Things’ Unit to Offer Insurers Online Data Service, Analysis

IBM is investing $3 billion to build an “Internet of Things” division aimed at harnessing the massive trove of data collected by smartphones, tablets, connected vehicles and appliances and using it to help companies better manage their businesses. IBM estimates …