WSJ Tech News Briefing

Tech Layoffs Pile Up as Bosses Reverse Course

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a period of aggressive hiring to meet heightened demand for online services during the pandemic, tech companies are now laying off many of those...

How High-Tech Lobster Traps Could Help Save Whales

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Endangered whales in the Atlantic could be given a lifeline by the use of high-tech lobster traps that pose less risk to them. But getting the industr...

Best of CES: What Gadgets Stood Out at This Year’s Big Tech Show?

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

CES is known as a place where companies can show off boundary-pushing gadgets. This year, paperlike speakers, a robot pet and tools to keep us connect...

How to Declutter Your Inbox and Devices in 2023

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For a New Year’s resolution, many of us would benefit from decluttering our digital lives. But all those emails, photos and more can be overwhelming...

How Ukraine Digitized Its Forces on the Cheap

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s fighting forces have managed to rapidly digitize, something the U.S. has spent decades an...

CES: How Will Gadget Startups Face Economic Challenges?

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The global trade show CES kicking off this week has been the place for startups to showcase their technologies to potential future partners and custom...

Blockchains Can Trace Carbon Credits, But Can They Improve the Market?

30 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The market for carbon credits has some big problems. The certificates that allow companies and governments to offset their emissions have been shown i...

Can Lab-Grown Meat Live Up to Its Climate Promises?

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One way to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by the meat industry: cutting out the farm. Cultivating meat by growing cells without growing the whol...

Carbon Transformation: Could Your Next Outfit Be Made of CO2?

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A small group of so-called carbon transformation companies are gaining traction with investors by turning carbon captured from factories and the air i...

Could Underwater Data Centers Make Cloud Computing Greener?

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cloud storage centers suck up a lot of energy. But when Microsoft tried putting data centers underwater a couple of years ago, it found the strategy g...

Next-Gen Climate Tech: Can It Live Up to Its Promises?

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So much of what we do every day adds to our carbon footprint. And now some tech companies are looking beyond green energy to come up with novel soluti...

Boston Dynamics CEO on Robots of the Future

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Boston Dynamics is best known for its robotic dog Spot, which is used by police departments and warehouses to perform various tasks. But the company i...

NFT Artist Beeple on the Future of Digital Art

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, is one of the most valuable living artists. But now that demand for non-fungible tokens has cooled...

How the EU Took On Big Tech in 2022

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Regulators in the European Union have been taking more actions against big tech companies this year, aiming to protect data privacy and customer choic...

India’s Chip-Making Plans Face a Long Road Ahead

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

India is making an ambitious push into the advanced-semiconductors market as it looks to establish itself as a high-end tech manufacturing alternativ...

YouTubers’ Old Videos Could Earn Them Millions, With Strings Attached

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A number of investment firms are offering YouTubers big payouts for the revenue rights to their back catalogs. For some, the deals could be a way to i...

Could the Key to EV Adoption Be… Shorter-Range Batteries?

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Would you choose an electric car that charges faster even if it meant a more-limited driving range? WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims joins host Zoe...

Why More Shoppers Are Turning to Reddit for Holiday Gift Research

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This holiday season, as gift-buyers try to avoid fake reviews on e-commerce sites and influencers pushing their products, many are turning to Reddit g...

Nuclear-Fusion Breakthrough: How Long Until Limitless Clean Energy?

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, saying scientists achieved a fusion reaction that generated more e...

Open-Source Intel: Are U.S. Spy Agencies Falling Behind?

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. intelligence agencies’ use of publicly available data is outpaced by adversaries such as China and even some large companies, officials say. WS...

Tensions at Salesforce Rose Ahead of Co-CEO’s Departure

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The recent exit of Salesforce's co-CEO Bret Taylor wasn’t long planned, according to people familiar with the matter, who say it was fueled by tensi...

Google Merges Maps and Waze on Cost-Cutting Journey

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Google plans to combine its mapping units, Waze and Maps, as its parent company Alphabet looks for opportunities to increase efficiencies. How will it...

Clock Is Ticking for TikTok to Reach Security Deal With Washington

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For years U.S. officials have warned that TikTok poses a national-security risk because of its owner, China-based ByteDance. The social-media app and ...

What Is ChatGPT, the AI Chatbot That Everyone Is Talking About?

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT, Lensa and DALL-E are giving more people without computing skills the chance to interact with artificial intelligence. These AI programs that ...

How Spotify Wrapped Does Data Collection Without Being Creepy

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Spotify Wrapped is the streaming giant’s annual reveal about its users’ listening habits. It’s one of the rare times a digital platform tells it...

China Steps Up Internet Censorship in Response to Protests

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

China clamps down on virtual private networks and pressures tech companies to boost censorship. The moves follow widespread protests in the country. W...

Audio Tech in TVs Has Improved. So Why Do Shows Sound Muddled?

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re having trouble hearing the dialogue on your TV, it may not be you. As audio technology develops and directors make more creative sound cho...

Sam Bankman-Fried Paid Little Heed to Risk, Say Ex-Staff

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Early staffers at Sam Bankman-Fried’s first company, Alameda Research, say they quit over his approach to risk, compliance and accounting. How simil...

Cyber Insurers Consider: What Would a Catastrophic Hack Look Like?

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Insurance firms that cover cyberattacks are working out what to do in the event of a catastrophic hack, one that takes down a systemically important c...

Facebook’s Top Posts Were Trash. Here’s What It Did to Fix Things.

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year Facebook parent Meta quietly formed a team to deal with an uncomfortable reality: the most popular posts on its platform were trash....

Actor Ben McKenzie on His Turn to Crypto Skeptic

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Ben McKenzie, known for his roles in The O.C. and Gotham, is an outspoken critic of crypto and of celebrities who use their fame to promote it. ...

Debating the Metaverse: Can It Live Up to Its Mega Hype?

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has been made about the metaverse and its potential, but in many ways it has failed so far to live up to its hype. At the WSJ’s Tech Live conf...

Holiday Tech Gifts That Are Actually Worth the Money

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the holiday shopping season gets underway, The Wall Street Journal’s personal tech team has come with a list of tech gifts that are actually wort...

Apple AirPods Show Possible Future for Hearing-Aid Tech

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The FDA says only one-fifth of Americans who would benefit from a hearing aid actually use one. But a recent study found Apple's latest AirPods Pro co...

Meta Workers Hijacked User Accounts and Charged Bribes, Report Says

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Meta disciplined or fired more than two dozen workers that it found allegedly misused an internal system to hijack users’ accounts. In some cases, M...

FTX’s Workers Are Angry and Financially Ruined

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The collapse of FTX was a massive blow for its customers and the wider crypto industry. It was also damaging for the exchange’s employees, many of w...

Russian Tech Workers’ Latest Exodus Hits Local IT Sector

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After Moscow stepped up its military mobilization to support its war in Ukraine, more of the country’s tech workers began to leave. That is making a...

To Prepare for Weather Extremes, U.N. Looks to Collect More Data

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists say climate change is leading to more extreme weather patterns, but many nations lack systems to provide early warnings of possible weather...

FTX Collapse Sets Back Crypto’s Hopes for Light Regulatory Touch

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The collapse of FTX has dashed the crypto industry’s hopes for pushing its agenda in Washington. At the same time, financial regulators are expected...

For Tech Workers, Pink Slips and Anxiety Replace Perks and Parties

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As more big tech firms announce layoffs, the mood among tech workers is growing grim. The industry once set the standard for perks and high pay, but t...

The Downfall of FTX: Could It Signal a Long Crypto Winter?

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Crypto exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried were some of the crypto industry’s brightest stars. But that changed this week when FTX faced ...

We Tried Out Mastodon, an Alternative to Twitter. Should You?

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than half a million users have signed up for the microblogging site Mastodon since Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk. But what is it like to use...

A Texting Scam Called ‘Pig Butchering’ Is Costing Victims Millions

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scammers are using friendship, fake cryptocurrencies and text messages to con millions of dollars out of unsuspecting victims. An increasingly common ...

Why Tesla’s China Ties Could Be a Problem for Twitter

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk’s new ownership of Twitter could be affected by the ties one of his other companies, Tesla, has to China. The electric-vehicle company sou...

Chip Glut Ripples Through Industry

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After two years of a chip shortage, we are now finding ourselves in a chip glut. What does a deepening oversupply of semiconductors mean for the indus...

Tech Live: Microsoft Talks Activision Blizzard Deal, Mobile Gaming

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft has been expanding where and how its customers engage with its game offerings, looking to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard as ...

Europe Pushes Cybersecurity Rules for Aviation Industry

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Europe has expanded its cybersecurity rules around airline flight safety. And for the first time, the requirements cover a range of companies in the a...

YouTube Selling Other Companies’ Streaming Services

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With streaming service fatigue on the rise, YouTube is becoming a one-stop-shop selling the streaming services of other companies, like Paramount+ and...

Self-Driving Truck Firm TuSimple Face Probes Over China Ties

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. government regulators are investigating whether self-driving trucking company, TuSimple, defrauded investors by sharing its technology with a Chi...

Microsoft Struggles to Succeed in the Metaverse With HoloLens

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft debuted its HoloLens augmented-reality headset seven years ago. But despite that head start,it has struggled to succeed in the market for th...

Special Live Episode: Self-Driving Tech Falls Behind on Its Promises

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Self-driving cars have advanced quite a bit, but the technology isn't making it onto roads as fast as some executives and investors had predicted. WSJ...

Tech Live: Inside Apple’s Thinking on Privacy, Charging Ports

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Apple is at the center of two big shifts in tech: privacy rules that have shaken the digital ad market and Europe’s move toward a common charging st...

Tech Live: Lyft Co-Founder on Stock-Price Tumble, Autonomous Cars

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ride-hailing is facing a lot of challenges: Fares are up, drivers are in short supply, and the prospect of a recession looms. Lyft co-founder and Pres...

Tech Live: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Chips Act, Geopolitics

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Global semiconductor companies are grappling with economic turmoil and steep global competition. Can the federal Chips Act and a push for domestic pro...

Tech Live 2022: WSJ’s Big Tech Event Is Back in Person

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Wall Street Journal’s annual technology conference, Tech Live, kicks off Monday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific. For three days, top tech executives and o...

How AI Art Will Change What We See Online

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence has made it nearly effortless to create digital art. WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern tried out two AI art prog...

Netflix’s New Strategies to Lure and Keep Subscribers

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After months of losing ground to competitors, Netflix looks to be turning things around. The streaming giant has set its sights on expanding its base ...

What Gas, the Hot New App With Teens, Says About Social Media’s Future

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gas has become one of the hottest social-media apps by encouraging teens to say positive things to each other. But will its popularity last? And how c...

Lyft Battles Newsom Over Taxes to Fund EVs

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A ballot measure in California for a new tax that would fund green transportation and wildfire prevention is pitting the state’s environmentally con...

Meta’s Flagship Metaverse Is Glitchy and Mostly Empty

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly a year after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook as Meta and a shift in strategy to focus on the metaverse, internal docum...

Introducing Bad Bets Season 2: The Unraveling of Trevor Milton

15 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bad Bets is WSJ’s podcast series that unravels big-business dramas that have had a big impact on our world. In season two, we delve into the story o...

TikTok Parent ByteDance Redoubles Music Streaming Efforts

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, wants to expand its music-streaming service after seeing the success of songs on the social-media platform. The ...

As Hacks Rise, Cyber Defenders Burn Out

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With hacking on the rise world-wide, cybersecurity professionals are juggling bigger caseloads and experiencing high levels of burnout. WSJ Pro Cybers...

Chip Demand Is Slowing. Where Does the Semiconductor Sector Go Next?

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After years of surging demand for memory chips to power personal computers, smartphones and gaming devices, shipments are starting to slow. Semiconduc...

Streaming Takes a Page From Cable TV: the Bundle

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After years of cutting the cable-TV cord, streaming customers are increasingly being offered something familiar: a bundle of programming. WSJ deputy m...

Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Deal Comes a Step Closer

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. took a big step toward reaching a data privacy deal with the European Union last week, with President Biden signing an executive order that w...

How Nobel-Winning Physicists’ Experiments Led to Quantum Computing

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists for their work in quantum computing . WSJ science reporter Eric Niiler joins host...

Iranian Protesters Struggle to Evade Internet Block Despite West’s Aid

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After Tehran restricted internet access to curb widespread protests, the Biden administration and Elon Musk’s SpaceX both said they would help prote...

Musk Deal to Buy Twitter May Be Back On

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest surprise twist in the Elon Musk-Twitter saga, the billionaire has offered to close his deal to acquire the social-media company on the o...

Deal to Secure TikTok User Data Poses Liability for Biden

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden administration is close to reaching an agreement with TikTok aimed at preventing U.S. users’ data from being shared with the Chinese gover...

Companies Rethink Cloud Strategies Amid Higher-Than-Expected Costs

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Countless companies have migrated their data storage and computing needs to the cloud in recent years, in part to save money. But now many tech leader...

Why Is TikTok Still Showing Eating-Disorder Videos to Users?

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After a Wall Street Journal investigation found TikTok was showing some young users a stream of harmful content on eating disorders and self-harm, th...

Why Ether’s Value Is Tumbling After the ‘Merge’

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 The cryptocurrency ether saw its value climb ahead of the highly anticipated software upgrade known as “the merge.” But even though the changeov...

NASA Smashed a Spacecraft Into an Asteroid. Now What?

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A NASA mission that purposely crashed a satellite into an asteroid this week was the first test of planetary defense technology. Now scientists are wo...

Does ‘Bossware’ Boost Worker Productivity? It’s Far From Clear

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More companies are turning to surveillance software to monitor white-collar workers. But this tech doesn’t always create the productivity boost that...

Hackers Working With Russia to Coordinate Cyberattacks, Google Says

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Russian military may be coordinating with hackers and online activists in cyberattacks, according to a new report from Google researchers. WSJ cyb...

VPNs Can Be A Great Way To Protect Your Data… Sometimes.

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Virtual Private Networks or VPNs, can keep your data from being collected by third-parties. But not all VPNs are equal. And sometimes they aren’t ne...

Robots Are Taking Over Chinese Factories

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese factories are installing robots almost as fast as the rest of the world combined. But China is still playing catchup to other industrial econo...

Spotify’s Audiobook Offering Pits It Against Amazon and Apple

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Streaming giant Spotify has entered the audiobook market with a new platform. But growing in this space won’t be the same as disrupting music listen...

Chinese Funding Pours Into Silicon Valley Despite Tensions With U.S.

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions are rising between Washington and Beijing, but Chinese investment into Silicon Valley venture-capital funds is still flowing. Some U.S. offic...

Cybersecurity Officials on Edge Amid Trial of Former Uber Executive

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The trial of Uber's former head of security is being closely watched by cybersecurity professionals, who worry it could set a precedent for who is lia...

Apple’s New iPhones and iOS 16: What to Expect

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The new operating system for Apple’s iPhones, iOS 16, includes a makeover for the home screen and new messaging functions. But some updates are feat...

Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Faces Jury Over Electric-Truck Claims

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trevor Milton, the founder of electric-truck company Nikola, is facing fraud charges in a New York court. Prosecutors allege he lied to investors abou...

Twitter Whistleblower Testifies Before Senate on Data Privacy Failures

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter’s former head of security testified before Congress on Tuesday, telling a Senate committee the company had failed to protect users and had p...

Instagram Struggles to Make Reels a Real Competitor to TikTok

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Instagram’s short-form video feature Reels is far behind its biggest rival, TikTok. Internal research reviewed by The Wall Street Journal shows Reel...

Robinhood’s New Index Gives Insight Into Younger Investors

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Robinhood has launched its own index, giving a peek into the most popular stocks among its largely young and small-time investor base. WSJ markets rep...

What a VC Wants: Forerunner’s Kirsten Green on Investing in a Downturn

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a bumpy time for startups and their investors. But the economic uncertainty could present opportunities for venture capitalists, who may be abl...

Apple Surprises With New iPhones by Keeping Prices Steady

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Apple has unveiled a new lineup of iPhones, smartwatches and wireless headphones. But the most surprising detail from the company’s annual September...

Can Internet Algorithms Be Regulated? China Is Giving It a Shot.

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese regulators are taking unprecedented steps to rein in the power of algorithms, the automated systems that shape the internet. But many of these...

Alert: Natural-Disaster Warnings Are Getting Better

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With severe wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters becoming more commonplace, current technologies that alert people to impending danger so...

NFT Insider-Trading Trial Could Set Precedent Beyond Digital Assets

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A case involving a man alleged to have engaged in insider trading of non-fungible tokens could push the bounds of fraud law. The WSJ's Risk & Complian...

California Bill Holds Social Media Responsible for Harm to Children

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A bill aimed at holding social-media platforms accountable for harm their apps may do to children passed the California legislature unanimously this w...

The U.S. Needs Weather Data. Satellite Companies Aren’t Collecting It.

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. government wants to collect more weather data from private companies’ satellites, with the goal of improving forecasting while cutting cost...

Could New Storage Techniques Preserve the World’s Plethora of Data?

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’re storing more of our data than ever, but the hard disk drives we rely on are reaching their physical limits. Now scientists are working on meth...

TikTok Is the New Google for Some Young People

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More young people are turning to TikTok for the kinds of answers they used to search for on Google. But while TikTok has loads of useful information, ...

NASA’s Artemis I Mission Is First Step in Returning Humans to the Moon

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

NASA plans to launch the uncrewed Artemis I flight from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday. WSJ space reporter Micah Maidenberg joins host Zoe Thomas to ...

China’s Videogame Makers Look for Growth Far and Wide

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The videogame industry in China is facing a tight regulatory environment and a slowing economy, and companies are looking for other ways to find growt...

Twitter Whistleblower Complaint Accuses Company of Security Failures

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter’s former head of security has filed a whistleblower complaint with regulators, claiming the social-media company is failing to protect sensi...

Apple Pay Is Killing the Wallet. It Only Took Eight Years.

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Apple launched Apple Pay in 2014, it didn’t seem like the contactless payment system was much of a hit with customers. Flash forward eight year...

The Ethereum Merge: Why Crypto World Is So Excited

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The crypto platform Ethereum is preparing for a major system overhaul aimed at reducing the amount of electricity the network uses. But the update cou...