WSJ Tech News Briefing
Tech Minute: FDA Quietly Removes Webpages Saying Cellphones Aren’t Dangerous
16 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your morning TNB Tech Minute for Friday, January 16th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal.
Chapter 2: Why did the FDA remove webpages stating cellphones aren't dangerous?
We're exclusively reporting that the Food and Drug Administration quietly removed web pages saying cell phones aren't dangerous. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services says they've launched a study on cell phone radiation to identify gaps in knowledge. The department is run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy and some of his allies have long pointed to cell phones as a potential source of illnesses, including cancer. Many mainstream scientific institutions, including the FDA, previously concluded that there isn't adequate proof to link health problems to cell phones or other wireless devices. But a vocal group of scientists
Chapter 3: What emergency auction is the Trump administration planning for tech companies?
have said there is reason to worry and to take more precautions. The Trump administration is planning to propose that the nation's largest power grid operator hold an emergency auction for tech companies to bid on funding new power plants. That's according to people familiar with the matter.
The directive expected today is an attempt by the federal government to check rising electricity prices within PJM Interconnection, a 13-state power market spanning from New Jersey to Kentucky.
Chapter 4: How is AI impacting electricity costs in the PJM Interconnection?
The build-out of AI data centers there is straining the grid's capacity and has resulted in substantially higher electricity costs. And Italy's competition regulator is investigating Microsoft's Activision Blizzard, saying the US gaming publisher might be misleading consumers through its popular games Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile.
The Italian competition authority said today that Activision might have breached the country's consumer protection laws by using misleading and aggressive practices to nudge users to play more often, extend their gaming sessions, and take up promoted offers. It's that the games are described as free-to-play but still offer in-game purchases.
Chapter 5: What are the allegations against Microsoft's Activision Blizzard in Italy?
Neither Microsoft nor Activision Blizzard immediately responded to requests for comment. That's your TMB Tech Minute. Join us again this afternoon for more.