WSJ Tech News Briefing

Travel ground to a halt at the outset of the pandemic. That could have spelled the end for Airbnb. But we report that under the leadership of CEO Brian Chesky, the company is set to report a surprise profit in the third quarter. Reporter Preetika Rana explains how he did it. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google are set to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee, where they will face questions about how their platforms treat politically charged content. Tech policy reporter Ryan Tracy discusses what to expect from today's hearing. Kateri Jochum hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook has used internal tools to quell civil unrest around elections in countries it considers to be "at risk," such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Now the WSJ reports the company is preparing for the possibility of deploying those tools in the U.S. Reporter Jeff Horwitz joins host Kateri Jochum to discuss what that would look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 account. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 work together to democratize access to tech. Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip moderates. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Production assistance from Trenae Nuri. Kateri Jochum is the executive producer of WSJ Podcasts. Learn more about your ad...

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 Joanna Stern asked former Google CEO Eric Schmidt for his thoughts. Plus, they talk about how big tech should use its power to transform healthcare and education. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about...

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 tells our global tech editor Jason Dean how he plans to reshape the legacy company into a major player in artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Listeners can still register for Tech Live at...

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 and how to regulate Big Tech. Listeners can tune in and register at techlive.wsj.com/registernow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 going virtual. Global tech editor Jason Dean tells host Amanda Lewellyn what to expect. Listeners can tune in and register at techlive.wsj.com/registernow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ask about it. Global Tech Editor Jason Dean breaks down the controversy, and why it's resurfacing a debate about the companies' roles in moderating content. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Christopher Zinsli is our supervising producer. Kateri Jochum...

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 Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 event could lead to a record-breaking fourth quarter for the company. Reporter Sebastian Herrera explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 traffic using content recommendation services. Reporter Emily Glazer explains. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Christopher Zinsli is our supervising producer. Kateri Jochum is the executive producer of WSJ podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 helps us do it. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 it can be so difficult for the company to track and remove QAnon-related content. Amanda Lewellyn hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 is our supervising producer. Kateri Jochum is the executive producer of WSJ podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices