Marketplace Tech

War shatters lives, families, homes and infrastructure. And as Russia continues its war in Ukraine, the cultural heritage of Ukraine is also at risk. Some Ukrainian museum websites have gone offline as the servers hosting them lose connections or are destroyed in attacks. Now, to prevent that information and cultural memory from disappearing entirely, nearly 1,000 archivists, programmers and librarians have volunteered to record and archive these sites.

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Last week, multinational video game developer Epic Games acquired Bandcamp. The relatively small music platform allows artists to sell music and merchandise directly to fans, with a higher percent of the profits supporting musicians there than other platforms. And though both companies say the tech consolidation is aimed at supporting growth, it has some musicians anxious about the future.

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Cryptocurrencies are part of the world of decentralized finance, or DeFi. Part of the draw — and risks — of this ecosystem is just how unregulated it is. A new paper by law professor Hilary J. Allen suggests that some services and products within DeFi pose similar risks to “shadow banking” services, like subprime mortgages and credit default swaps, that set the stage for the 2008 financial crisis. Today, we’ll chat with Allen about her thoughts on why DeFi is the newest iteration of shadow banking.

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Analysts and experts around the world have been on high alert as the war in Ukraine continues, concerned about potential Russian cyberattacks. Though cyberattacks have played a minor role so far, security experts have warned that those attacks could intensify — including against targets in the U.S.  And though the federal government and many companies have beefed up cybersecurity efforts in recent years, there’s still a big worker shortage in the sector.

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More than one-third of global bitcoin is mined in the United States, and the process consumes a ton of electricity. In the coming weeks, we’ll examine the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. But first, back to the basics: What is bitcoin mining? And why is it so energy-intensive?

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Desalination is the process by which salty ocean water is made drinkable. Though it’s seen as a potential solution to address water shortages in arid parts of the world, it also produces a lot of carbon emissions. So what role might desalination play in addressing the climate crisis if it could also worsen it?

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Ukraine has solicited an unusual form of donation to pay the costs of war: cryptocurrency. So far, the country has amassed more than $42 million in crypto donations. We hear from Marketplace’s Savannah Maher and delve into the benefits and complications of such contributions.

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Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, social media users have been sharing images and stories of the war. Mixed in with the feed are coordinated disinformation and propaganda campaigns. Wednesday we’re joined by Courtney Radsch, a fellow at UCLA’s Institute for Technology, Law and Policy, to discuss content moderation policies that platforms are creating “on the fly yet again.”

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Tuesday, China’s government will start enforcing regulations on companies that use algorithms to do things like control search results, recommend videos or set prices. It’s part of China’s broader efforts to crack down on its tech sector. Among other things, these new rules would prohibit companies from using someone’s personal information to show them a different price for a product than someone else.

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The IRS offers some taxpayers the option to file their taxes online for free using commercial software. But this year, fewer companies will be participating. Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, is out, and it has been in a fight with many of its customers since a 2019 ProPublica investigation found that the company allegedly misled consumers into paying for supposedly free services. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Justin Elliott, one of the reporters who broke the story, He says TurboTax has tried to shield itself from traditional class-action suits.

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