WSJ Tech News Briefing
TNB Tech Minute: Iran Hunts Down Starlink Users to Stop Spread of Protest Videos
13 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, January 13. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal.
Chapter 2: Why is Iran intensifying efforts to jam Starlink services?
Iran is intensifying efforts to jam Elon Musk's Starlink service in the country. Iranians have been relying on Starlink to share videos of growing protests and the regime's crackdown on anti-government protesters. Last week, Iran shut down most internet connections and throttled phone services. Starlink is banned in the country and users of it are now being hunted.
Chapter 3: What are the allegations between AI startup Percepta and Palantir?
According to a U.S. non-profit opposed to internet censorship, Iranian authorities over the weekend began searching for and confiscating Starlink dishes in western Tehran. AI startup Percepta has denied Palantir's allegations that it's poaching workers and stealing company secrets. In a legal filing yesterday, Percepta instead accused Palantir of trying to deter employees from leaving.
In October, Palantir sued Percepta, alleging its two co-founders had stolen trade secrets and violated their non-solicitation agreements. It also accused a third employee of stealing confidential documents from Palantir. In Monday's filing, Percepta disputed Palantir's claims that it violated non-competition agreements, calling them overly broad.
Finally, SK Hynix plans to build a $13 billion chip packaging and testing facility in South Korea amid surging demand for AI chips.
Chapter 4: How is SK Hynix responding to the demand for AI chips?
SK Hynix is a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory products to NVIDIA. The new plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 and will add to SK Hynix's chip packaging capacity in the country.
The company is also building facilities in the U.S., SK Hynix expects the high bandwidth memory market to grow 33% annually on average from 2025 to 2030.
Chapter 5: What future plans does SK Hynix have for chip production?
And that's it for your TMB Tech Minutes. We'll have another quick tech update in the morning.