Marketplace Tech

Before attacks on cities across Ukraine, cybersecurity experts say Russia disrupted or took offline Ukrainian government websites and other critical infrastructure. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia for the land invasion. While these new sanctions are significant, they also come with a risk that Russia will retaliate with cyberattacks against the U.S.

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Many people signed up for delivery apps for the first time during the pandemic. As COVID-19 case numbers dip, those platforms are still going strong. To stay relevant, apps like DoorDash and UberEats are aiming to emerge as one-stop delivery platforms for restaurant orders, groceries, alcohol, you name it. The strategy seems to be working, at least for now.

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The Federal Communications Commission decided last week to provide renters and condo dwellers with more options for internet service. Though it’s a pro-consumer move, it’s difficult to enforce, and, overall, competition among providers is pretty sparse. Still, it’s a small step toward recognizing high-speed internet as a utility, like water and gas.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Marine archaeologists and a small army of scuba divers are working to uncover the stories behind sunken ships from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams talks with Justin Dunnavant, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and one of those divers, about how advances in technology are improving our ability to examine those ships and understand the history they represent.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Today, we’re re-airing an episode from Jan. 20.

Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks to open up more bandwidth for expanded 5G networks. On Feb. 22, AT&T will be the first carrier to end its 3G services. T-Mobile will shut down its network by July 1 and Verizon by the end of the year. Commercial 3G networks first started popping up in the early 2000s and were about 30 times faster than their 2G predecessors, opening the door for new technology — remember Palm Pilots and BlackBerrys? — and creating infrastructure for many of the apps we use today. Joanna Stern, who’s covered the coming shutdown for The Wall Street Journal, joins us to discuss.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

When looking for new music, it’s easy to let a streaming service’s algorithm recommend songs similar to music you already like. Those types of algorithms are the focus of new book from NBC News tech correspondent Jacob Ward. In today’s show, Ward argues that those algorithms have us in a feedback loop that may dull our critical thinking.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Recent court rulings in France and Austria are part of a larger push in the European Union to manage how American companies use European residents’ data. Back in July 2020, European courts severed a data privacy pact between the U.S. and the EU, saying the agreement didn’t provide enough protections from surveillance. Now, the pressure is on for companies and negotiators.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Massachusetts is the only state with an active right-to-repair law, ensuring third-party vendors and independent car repair shops can access materials and data they need to fix some modern tech. Today we’re joined by Aaron Perzanowski, a Case Western Reserve University law professor, to hear about existing and proposed legislation aimed at giving car owners greater control of their own data.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Futurist Amy Webb is known for her predictions about the next big thing in technology and for early warnings about some of the economic and ethical considerations that go along with those advancements. Webb recently co-authored a book with geneticist Andrew Hessel called “The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology.” In it, she explores the role “synthetic biology” will play in shaping our world. It already has, in some ways, like in bringing us the mRNA vaccines we’re using to fight COVID. But in the not-so-distant future, Webb said, it will play an even bigger role in our health, what we eat and even how we have kids.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. Click this link to donate now. Thank you.

During the pandemic, many people reached out for human connection online, leading to a boom in romance scams and “catfishing,” which is when someone fakes their identity or appearance online. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams discussed the situation with Richard Gargan of the background check company BeenVerified, who wrote a report about the scale of the problem and how romance scammers operate.