Marketplace Tech

Several tech giants are coming together today to protest a roll back of net neutrality rules. Advocates for net neutrality support the idea that internet service providers should treat all websites the same — without favoring or blocking certain ones — while opponents say that the price of a resource should reflect its value. On today's show, we'll get some perspective on the issue from the president and CEO of the Internet Association, Michael Beckerman, and the president of the Technology Policy Institute, Scott Wallsten.

We are now officially in the midst of Amazon Prime Day, the company's invented online shopping holiday. A lot of people who are buying electronics from the retail giant may not know how to immediately install them, which is why Amazon has started a service that will provide in-person help. On today's show, we'll talk about why the company is dipping its toes in this area. Afterwards, we'll discuss a payment startup called Stripe that will allow companies from all over the world to take payments — whether we're talking credit cards or apps. And finally, we'll look at how ordering pizza can help us understand the debate over net neutrality.

It's Christmas in July for Amazon. The retail giant is kicking off its summer online shopping sale this week: Prime Day. (Which you've probably seen the advertisements for.) But how sweet will the deals actually be? Adam Burakowski, deals editor at The Wirecutter, joined us to discuss whether all the hype is worth it. Plus: we'll look at news that thousands of tech companies are engaging in a day of action on the 12th to prevent the roll back of net neutrality rules. Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers should give equal access to all information and websites. To get a better idea of how this concept works, Charles Duan, a staff attorney at Public Knowledge, gave us some analogies. And afterwards, we'll hear from one company — Vimeo — about how they're preparing for this day of action.

The tech industry has been rocked yet again by revelations about a culture of sexual harassment and unwanted advances. Sarah Kunst, founder and the CEO of the sports media company Proday, joined us to talk about these issues and what companies can do to prevent them. Plus: We play this week's Silicon Tally with David Gura, the co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance and the anchor for Bloomberg Television.

By now, you've probably seen the video of President Donald Trump beating up a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his face. The whole controversy got us thinking about memes: can someone own a meme? Can it be copyrighted? Corynne McSherry, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stopped by to break it all down for us. Afterwards, we'll chat with Enigma CEO Hicham Oudghiri about his company's service, which promises to be a powerful tool for accessing and understanding publicly available data sets.

You've probably heard of the Amazon Echo and Google Home, but what about the DingDong? Or the Little Fish? Turns out there are a series of smart speakers that are specifically designed for Chinese buyers. And Alibaba, the e-commerce behemoth based in China, wants in on that market. On today's show, we'll discuss how much of a threat the company's new device could pose to Google and Amazon, and then examine some of the challenges associated with Chinese-language voice assistants. Plus: A look at the world of video-game modding.

Microsoft has increased its focus on cloud computing, and there are rumors that thousands could be laid off in its plans to reorganize. What direction is Microsoft trying to go, and can it compete with the likes of Amazon? Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, stopped by chat with us about the tech giant's future. Afterwards, we'll look at IBM Watson's latest appearance: the Wimbledon courts as part of the All England Lawn Tennis Club tournament. Watson's tech will measure different data to create highlight reels — which IBM says will take half the time of human video-highlight editors.

An estimated 44.2 million Americans are expected to travel around this Fourth of July, which is causing traffic on travel websites to soar. One of 'em: KAYAK, a service that allows customers to search for the best travel deals out there. Co-founder Steve Hafner stopped by to talk to us about the company's relationship with Google and how it tries to help users make smarter traveling choices. Afterwards, we'll chat with inventor Kevin Wu about his new app, FireFly, which enables you to shoot off fireworks.

As this week's massive cyber attack continues to play out in more than 70 countries, we're looking at one area in which it could engender growth — the cyber liability insurance industry. Currently valued at 4 billion dollars annually, it's expected to reach 20 billion in coming years. But what exactly does a cyber liability policy cover? We talk to Smita Bhargava,  vice president of programs and special risk for the insurance company Clements. They're seeing an increase in inquiries about whether cyber liability policies would cover events like this week's attack. Plus, quiz yourself on the latest tech news in this week's installment of Silicon Tally featuring Katherine Gorman, co-host of artificial intelligence podcast The Talking Machines.

The cooking ingredient delivery service Blue Apron goes public today. They are listed as a startup tech company, but we discuss whether or not they really merit this status and the high value that comes with it. Plus, Nintendo re-releases more games from their coveted vault and we announce the winners from our audio quiz earlier this week on Atari 2600 game sounds.