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WSJ Tech News Briefing

‘Sextortion’ Scams Leverage Apple’s Message Platform to Build Trust With Teens

WSJ Tech News Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

News, Tech News

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Criminals are exploiting the trust that young iPhone users have in the device’s built-in message platform to make relentless demands for money. WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon reports on the tragic results of those scams, and what parents need to know. Plus: Artificial intelligence companies have been the leading backers of technologies like solar energy and battery storage. Now, WSJ tech and crypto reporter Amrith Ramkumar reports those firms are trying to convince Congress to leave their clean-energy tax credits alone. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:33.7

Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, June 11th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal.

0:39.9

President Trump's signature budget bill could throw a wrench in big tech's plans to power massive

0:45.5

data centers needed to fuel the AI boom. But the journal exclusively reports those companies

0:51.4

aren't sitting back quietly. Then so-called sextortion scams have ended

0:56.9

in tragedy for teenaged social media users across the country. Now scammers have found a new way

1:03.3

to build trust faster. Our family and tech columnist explains what parents need to know.

1:11.0

But first, a coalition of tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and META,

1:17.0

are lobbying members of Congress not to slash clean energy tax credits in the so-called

1:22.1

Big Beautiful Bill awaiting approval from the Senate.

1:25.1

The Data Center Coalition, as they call themselves, is concerned

1:28.1

rising power prices and power shortages, could disrupt their investments, and they've sent a letter

1:33.6

to the Senate Majority Leader expressing those worries. Amrith Ramkumar is the journal's tech and

1:38.7

crypto policy reporter. Amrith, you've gotten an exclusive look at this letter. What does it say?

1:43.8

The letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune basically says that tech companies are really worried about electricity shortages and price increases if Congress goes ahead with the plan to gut clean energy tax credits and aggressively phased them out.

...

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