WSJ Tech News Briefing
TNB Tech Minute: EU Will Increase Oversight of WhatsApp’s Channels Feature
26 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever. At the break, join Christoph Beck, Chairman and CEO of Ecolab, for insights on using water effectively while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.
Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Monday, January 26th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. The European Union said it'll tighten its oversight of WhatsApp.
The EU's executive arm said Meta's messaging service is now considered a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act, due to WhatsApp's Channels feature which allows accounts to broadcast to a large number of users. The DSA obliges such entities to do more to protect users from illegal and harmful content.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said it remains committed to evolving its safety measures in the region and ensuring it meets regulation. Meta has until mid-May to bring the service in line with the DSA's tougher obligations for large platforms.
Amid the season's biggest snowstorm, NVIDIA unveiled a new suite of open-source AI models called Earth-2 at the American Meteorological Society's annual meeting today. The company said these models aim to make AI weather and climate predictions more accessible for scientists, businesses, and governments.
Corporations have been investing more in weather tracking following staff cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Trump administration. Nvidia said developers from the Weather Company, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, and the Israel Meteorological Service are already using Nvidia's AI capabilities, as well as energy companies.
And Bitcoin recovered marginally after hitting a five-week low overnight. Investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday and big tech earnings this week. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged, but markets will be looking for any clues about possible future rate cuts.
President Trump is also expected to announce his choice for the next Fed chair in the coming days. Tech earnings this week include Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta on Wednesday and Apple on Thursday. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out tomorrow's Tech News Briefing podcast.
How are data center operators working to improve sustainability and water savings at every stage of the data center lifecycle? Here's Ecolab's Christoph Beck with some thoughts.
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Chapter 2: How is the EU increasing oversight of WhatsApp's Channels feature?
They have the means, they have the mindset, they have the passion for innovation, and they're really open to try new things as well because everything is new with AI and with that technology as well.
I think even if we're not where we wanted to be with that industry right now, we will be ahead in the next few years because innovation that's coming up right now is working much better than we thought. And it's really thinking in circular ways, being in a data center or in a microchip manufacturing plant.
Learn more about Ecolab at Ecolab.com.
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