WSJ Tech News Briefing

By The Wall Street Journal

Tech News

What's WSJ Tech News Briefing about?

Get the latest in technology news for your weekday commute. Wall Street Journal reporters join Tanya Bustos to cover leading companies, new gadgets, consumer trends and cyber issues. From San Francisco to New York to the hottest conferences, our journalists help you stay plugged in.

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Reid Hoffman and Fei-Fei Li...

10.26.2020

On today's episode, a conversation between LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Fei-Fei Li, and WSJ Pro AI reporter Jared Council about how to build tools for the future and take ethics into ...

WSJ Tech News Briefing episodes:

10.26.2020 Reid Hoffman and Fei-Fei Li on Human-Centered AI (Special Episode) On today's episode, a conversation between LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Fei-Fei Li, and WSJ Pro AI reporter Jared Council about how to build tools for the future and take ethics into ...
10.23.2020 Tech Live: Bridging the Digital Divide and the Road to Tech Equity The pandemic has exacerbated the digital divide: who has access to the internet, and who doesn't. On today's episode, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and Black Girls Code Founder and CEO Kimberly Bryant discuss how the public and private sectors can ...
10.22.2020 Tech Live: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Big Tech's Power Earlier this week, the Justice Department dropped its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that Google illegally uses anticompetitive methods to protect its monopoly on search and search advertising. At our annual Tech Live conference, our Senior Personal Tech Columnist ...
10.21.2020 Justice Department Files Antitrust Suit Against Google The DOJ has filed a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company engaged in anticompetitive conduct to preserve monopolies in search and search-advertising. Reporter Brent Kendall explains. Plus: at our Tech Live Conference, IBM's newly-appointed CEO Arvind Krishna ...
10.20.2020 Tech Live: Tech Platforms and the Power of Persuasion Our annual Tech Live conference has begun. On today's show: a town-hall style debate between Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Julie Brill, and Director of the Stanford Internet Observatory Alex Stamos on whether ...
10.19.2020 Kicking Off WSJ's Annual Tech Live Conference It's Day 1 of The Wall Street Journal's annual Tech Live conference, where we talk to movers and shakers in the tech sector. Normally, we hold the event in Laguna Beach, Calif., but like so much else, this year it's ...
10.16.2020 Twitter, Facebook Questioned Over Restricting New York Post Articles Twitter and Facebook took steps this week to limit the spread of New York Post articles that made allegations about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, which the campaign disputes. Now lawmakers say they will subpoena Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to ...
10.15.2020 Silicon Valley Companies Cut Pay for Remote Workers, Igniting Tensions As tech workers pack their bags and decamp to cheaper cities to work remotely during the pandemic, some companies are adjusting compensation to reflect workers' new, lower costs of living. Reporter Katherine Bindley discusses how that's creating some tension. Amanda ...
10.14.2020 What You Need to Know About the iPhone 12 Apple is rolling out four models of its new iPhone 12. The phones promise an updated design, improved cameras-and 5G capability. Senior Personal Tech Columnist Joanna Stern weighs in on whether that's enough to warrant an upgrade. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
10.13.2020 Amazon's Prime Day Could Help It Break Records Prime Day is typically held in the summer to help Amazon drum up business during the slower months. This year, the company pushed it back to keep up with the pandemic-related surge in orders. Despite that, analysts think this year's ...
10.12.2020 How the Fight Against Misinformation Extends Beyond Social Media Social-media companies are taking steps to cut back on misinformation ahead of the U.S. election, including limiting state-run media sites like RT, formerly known as Russia Today. But we report that some of those outlets have still been picking up ...
10.09.2020 The Future of Computing Might Not Be So Battery-Powered Demand for batteries is through the roof, but that might not be the case forever. Tech columnist Christopher Mims says the future of computing might be heavy on perpetual computing machines, which harvest energy from their environments. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
10.08.2020 Amazon Accused of Abusing Power in Rise to E-commerce 'Gatekeeper' We've been digging into the House Antitrust Subcommittee's 449-page report, concluding its investigation into big tech. Yesterday, we looked at the broad strokes-and today we're going to go deeper on what the report says about Amazon. Tech editor Bradley Olson ...
10.07.2020 House Panel Says Big Tech Wields Monopoly Power The House Antitrust Subcommittee has completed its investigation into Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google, concluding that some of America's largest technology companies have leveraged their dominance to stamp out competition and stifle innovation. Reporter Ryan Tracy explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
10.06.2020 How the White House is Taking On Remote Work After President Trump and several other White House figures were diagnosed with the coronavirus, many aides have been sent to work from home. But getting the White House WFH-ready comes with challenges all its own. Reporter David Uberti explains. Amanda ...
10.05.2020 QAnon Lands on LinkedIn As we spend more time online during the pandemic, the conspiracy theory QAnon has been gaining followers. Now, we report that supporters have made their way to LinkedIn. Reporter Stu Woo explains what's happening, how LinkedIn is responding, and why ...
10.02.2020 California Firefighters Use AI to Battle Wildfires It's been a record year for wildfires on the West Coast. That's why some firefighters are using artificial intelligence to help them battle the flames. Deputy Editor of WSJ Pro Artificial Intelligence John McCormick explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Christopher Zinsli ...
10.01.2020 Twitter Partner's Alerts Highlight Divide Over Surveillance A Twitter data partner, Dataminr, sells a service to law enforcement and other agencies that monitors Twitter's full feed and sends alerts that include tweets about protests. That has the companies at odds with privacy advocates over what level of ...
09.30.2020 Why We're Seeing So Many Ransomware Attacks Right Now In recent days, ransomware attacks have affected schools and one of the country's largest hospital systems. Our reporter Robert McMillan says the attacks are part of a larger trend of hackers targeting critical institutions-not just big businesses. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
09.29.2020 Hackers Target Schools in the Pandemic Last week, a hacker released a trove of confidential information about students and employees in a Las Vegas-area school district, after officials there had refused to pay a ransom. And they aren't the only school to be targeted during the ...
09.28.2020 Apple Exempts Some Apps From Paying Developer Fees Developer fees: They're the cut that Apple takes when you buy an app from its App Store, or if you make a purchase within an app. Apple says the fees help it do things like provide security, but developers have ...
09.25.2020 Why Huang's Law Is the New Moore's Law For decades, Moore's Law held that the number of transistors on a microchip would double every 18 months or so. But physics has gotten in the way. Now: our tech columnist Christopher Mims argues that we should be observing a ...
09.24.2020 Amazon Restricts How Rivals Buy Ads On Its Site Amazon has been coming under scrutiny for its treatment of third-party sellers on its platform. The latest: a Wall Street Journal investigation has uncovered that Amazon limits some competitors' ability to promote their products on its platform. Our reporter Dana ...
09.23.2020 Nikola, Tesla and Drama in the Electric Vehicle Space Nikola is a rising star in the electric vehicle space. But in recent weeks, allegations have surfaced that Nikola's founder and executive chairman Trevor Milton made misleading claims about the company's technology. Things reached a fever pitch earlier this week, ...
09.22.2020 TikTok and the Global Fracturing of the Internet Countries have been making moves to treat citizens' data as a national security issue. But the effect has been a more Balkanized internet. Reporter Aaron Tilley explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.21.2020 Another Rollercoaster Weekend for TikTok Over the weekend, President Trump signed off on a deal between TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart. Reporter Alex Leary helps us break down what's in the deal, and how it compares to the administration's original demands. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more ...
09.18.2020 Remote Classrooms Make Social and Emotional Learning Harder The switch to remote learning hasn't been smooth. One part of the curriculum that has gotten muddled along the way is social and emotional learning, or SEL. It comes at a time when there have never been more stressors on ...
09.17.2020 How Trump and Biden Compare on Tech Policy As part of an ongoing election series, The Wall Street Journal is breaking down how President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden compare on major policy issues. Today we look at the candidates' tech policies. Reporter Ryan Tracy guides ...
09.16.2020 Apple Event Highlights: New Watch and Fitness Service But No iPhone Apple unveiled a host of new products and services at its annual special event yesterday. Senior Personal Tech Columnist Joanna Stern breaks down what we did (and didn't) see, and what it means for consumers. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more ...
09.15.2020 What Does Oracle See in TikTok? Over the weekend, we found out that Oracle has struck up a partnership with TikTok for the video-sharing company's U.S. operations. At first glance, it might seem like TikTok and Oracle are an unlikely pairing. But the two companies have ...
09.14.2020 Who Is Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai? As CEO of Google parent Alphabet, Sundar Pichai leads one of the most powerful companies in the world. But he also is more low-key than many other Silicon Valley tech leaders. Reporter Rob Copeland takes us on a deep dive ...
09.11.2020 Mystery Seeds Prompt Amazon to Ban Foreign Plant Sales to the U.S. For months, thousands of people have been receiving packages containing unmarked or mislabeled plant seeds that they didn't order. Reporter Jesse Newman breaks down the regulatory whodunit. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Christopher Zinsli is our supervising producer. Kateri Jochum is the ...
09.10.2020 Ireland to Order Facebook to Stop Sending User Data to the U.S. Ireland's data protection authority has issued a preliminary order to Facebook, seeking to enforce a European Union ruling on data-sharing restrictions. Reporter Sam Schechner explains how the outcome could change the way tech companies operate across borders. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
09.09.2020 Why Tech Keeps Getting Caught Up in U.S.-China Tensions China has rolled out an initiative to set global data-security standards, in response to U.S. efforts to shut Chinese tech out of its internet infrastructure. It's the latest incident in rising tensions between China and the U.S. Senior editor Bob ...
09.08.2020 John Foley on Peloton's Growth in the Pandemic (Special Episode) On today's special episode, our columnist John D. Stoll interviews Peloton C.E.O. and cofounder John Foley. They talk about Peloton's just-announced new line of products, how the company has fared during the pandemic, and why it's important for Peloton that ...
09.04.2020 Facebook Rolls Out Policies Meant to Protect November Election Less than two months from the November election, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced new measures meant to combat misinformation and the potential for civil unrest. Reporter Jeff Horwitz explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Christopher Zinsli is our supervising producer. Kateri Jochum ...
09.03.2020 What's TikTok Without Its Core Algorithm? New rules from China restrict exports of artificial intelligence, which could include TikTok's core recommender algorithm. The news has thrown ongoing deal talks between the video-sharing app and several U.S. companies into question. But what's so special about TikTok's algorithm, ...
09.02.2020 FAA Approval Brings Amazon Closer to Drone Deliveries Amazon has been pushing to use drones in package deliveries for years. Reporter Sebastian Herrera explains how a key approval from the Federal Aviation Administration has brought the company one step closer to making that a reality for consumers. Amanda ...
09.01.2020 New Tech Being Developed to Respond to Oil Spills Spurred by BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, researchers have been working on new, tech-powered ways to clean up oil spills. Reporter Eric Sylvers explains what they've come up with, and why it's so hard to implement. Amanda Lewellyn ...
08.31.2020 How Agriculture Is Using Tech to Make Farming More Efficient Farms have made use of various tech advancements in recent years: everything from self-driving tractors to genetic engineering for hardier plants. Reporter Jacob Bunge talks about one part of the industry that is working to combine data analytics and e-commerce ...
08.28.2020 Why Apple and Tesla Are Splitting Their Stocks Tech companies' share prices are skyrocketing, and some companies are enacting stock splits to make it easier for investors to buy shares at a lower cost. Reporter Michael Wursthorn explains what you need to know. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Kateri Jochum ...
08.27.2020 Colleges Weigh Transparency vs. Privacy on Covid-19 Data As thousands of students across the country return to campuses, colleges and universities are trying to figure out how to share important health data without violating students' privacy. Reporter David Uberti explains why their solutions are so varied. Amanda Lewellyn ...
08.26.2020 Tech Companies Seek to Combat Bias in Algorithms Algorithms are everywhere, helping to do things like determine who gets loans and what content shows up in your search results. But what happens when those algorithms contain biases? WSJ Pro reporter Jared Council explains "algorithmic bias," and how some ...
08.25.2020 Why TikTok Is Suing the Trump Administration President Trump signed an executive order earlier this month that would effectively ban TikTok if it doesn't find a buyer for its U.S. operations. Now TikTok has filed suit in response. Reporter Katy Stech Ferek explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn ...
08.24.2020 How Covid-19 Is Exacerbating Workforce Inequality The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of new technologies, especially automation. While that's made it easier for white-collar workers to adjust in the pandemic-it could eliminate a lot of low- and middle-income jobs even after we've recovered. Tech columnist Christopher ...
08.21.2020 Sheryl Sandberg On Facebook and Elections (Special Episode) On today's episode, our business columnist John D. Stoll interviews Facebook C.O.O. Sheryl Sandberg. Since we're coming up on an election, they talk about Facebook's role in policing content and providing voting information. Stoll also probes Sandberg's political ambitions. Amanda ...
08.20.2020 Slack and Teams Make Work-From-Home Easier-But Sometimes, Less Civil Many groups are conducting most of their day-to-day workplace communications over services like Slack and Teams. But it can be hard to eke out your colleague's intended meaning over text. Reporter Chip Cutter discusses how, in some cases, things have ...
08.19.2020 Disagreement Inside the D.O.J. Over Possible Google Antitrust Suit The Justice Department has been investigating Google's competitive practices, and we've reported it aims to file a suit by this summer. Now we report that some department staffers are concerned about that timeline and want to pump the brakes. Reporter ...
08.18.2020 How Our Internet Habits Have Changed in the Pandemic Shutdown orders have forced much of our daily lives online. A new Wall Street Journal analysis provides insight into how we're spending our time online, and what that means for internet providers. Our reporter Lillian Rizzo explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. ...
08.17.2020 An Epic Fight: How the 'Fortnite' Creator is Taking on Apple, Google The videogame maker Epic Games mounted a fight against developer fees, the fees that Apple and Google charge developers to distribute their software and process in-app purchases. The back-and-forth last week ended with Epic suing the tech giants. Reporter Sarah ...

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