Marketplace Tech

There’s more scrutiny around violence and video games at this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. After the mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida last month, President Donald Trump called the game industry to the White House and suggested that violence in video games could lead to real-world violence. However, research hasn’t found a link between the two. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Kate Edwards, executive director of Take This, a mental health nonprofit, to find out how game developers are thinking about this in their work.

This week President Donald Trump signed an executive order that put a halt on a merger between two giants in the microchip-making business. Singapore-based Broadcom was attempting to buy California-based Qualcomm. The president cited national security concerns in his order to block the merger. At issue was Qualcomm’s role in developing next-generation wireless connectivity, or 5G. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Roger Cheng, executive editor at CNET, about why 5G is so important to U.S. interests.

AT&T wants to buy Time Warner and the Justice Department isn’t having it. The Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against AT&T and Time Warner last November to prevent the merger. The government’s case rests on whether the merger would lessen competition in the entertainment marketplace and harm consumers. The case will go trial next week. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Michael Carrier, a professor of law at Rutgers, about what’s at stake.

Are scientists prioritizing data collection over reporting harassment? That’s one of the questions that caused University of Illinois anthropologist Kathryn Clancy to examine harassment in research laboratories and field sites.  She found that it’s prevalent in science as much as other fields, and that often researchers don’t know the procedures for reporting incidents. Clancy talks with Marketplace's Kimberly Adams about the harassment that exists in scientific research, and what universities can do to change it.

The winter Paralympics have been held for more than 40 years. Athletes compete in events such as alpine skiing, some using a sit ski, with a seat attached to a single ski. There's also biathlon, in which vision impaired athletes use sound to find targets. How has technology affected the evolution of the games — and what role does money play in who has that tech? Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams talks with Ian Brittain, a research fellow at Coventry University in the United Kingdom, where he studies disabilities and the Paralympics.

The Japanese multinational SoftBank Group launched its $98 billion VisionFund last year. Since then, it's dramatically changed the landscape in tech and venture capital. The fund has taken a majority stake in Uber, poured billions into WeWork, Nvidia, DoorDash, Slack and the dog walking startup Wag. SoftBank's influence is so big, it's pushing other venture capital companies to raise more money. Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley's best-known firms, is reportedly trying to raise more than $12 billion in new capital just to keep up. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood speaks to Anand Sanwal of CB Insights about how VisionFund is changing everything.

This week BlackBerry sued Facebook saying that all its messaging products — Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram — violate patents that BlackBerry filed when it built BlackBerry Messenger over a decade ago. Facebook responded, saying it intends to fight the lawsuit. Molly Wood speaks with Ina Fried of Axios about whether BlackBerry is after something more than just a really big settlement check.

After spending almost a year orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station, the longest spaceflight by an American astronaut, Scott Kelly returned to our planet two years ago to much admiration and with a severe case of jelly legs. His mission was to better understand how living in space affects human physiology. Now he’s partnered with 3M to promote science awareness to the masses. Kelly spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about his life and the future of space travel.

Congress took a step toward tighter internet censorship last week, depending on how you look at it. The House passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, which makes it easier to sue websites that allow sex traffickers to post on their sites. The bill changes previous legislation that made sure third-party providers, like websites, couldn’t be held liable for online posts by independent users. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was co-authored by then-Rep. Chris Cox, a Republican from California, and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon in 1996. Cox spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about the legislation and why it may be time for an update.

Among the list of banned advertising on Facebook you’ll find the usual suspects: guns, drugs, porn etc. Also, on that list? Bad grammar, and notably, cryptocurrencies. When it comes to political campaign ads however, the rules are few and far between. Unlike television, radio and print ads, online campaign ads don’t face federal regulations. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Phil Weiser, a professor of law and telecommunications at the University of Colorado, about the state of online political advertising.