WSJ Tech News Briefing: ‘Sextortion’ Scams Leverage Apple’s Message Platform to Build Trust With Teens

Release Date: June 11, 2025

The Wall Street Journal's Tech News Briefing delves into two pressing issues impacting the technology landscape: the potential ramifications of President Trump's proposed budget on big tech's data center operations and the alarming rise of sextortion scams exploiting Apple's Messages platform to target teenagers. Hosted by Victoria Craig, the episode provides in-depth analysis, exclusive reporting, and expert insights into these critical topics.

1. Big Tech's Data Center Challenges Amid Proposed Budget Cuts

Overview: President Trump's signature budget bill has raised concerns among major technology companies regarding its impact on clean energy tax credits. These credits are pivotal for powering the expansive data centers that support the burgeoning AI industry. A coalition comprising tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta has actively lobbied against the budget's provisions, emphasizing the critical role of clean energy in maintaining their operational efficiency and competitive edge.

Key Points:

• Coalition’s Concerns: The Data Center Coalition, representing leading tech firms, fears that the proposed budget could disrupt the necessary power infrastructure needed for their data centers. Amrith Ramkumar, the Wall Street Journal's tech and crypto policy reporter, highlights the coalition's main argument:

  “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 a plan to gut clean energy tax credits and aggressively phase them out.” (01:29)

• Impact on Power Supply: Data centers are increasingly large, often consuming as much power as entire cities. Ramkumar elaborates on the dependency of these centers on a reliable and affordable energy supply:

  “So data centers are getting bigger and bigger. The biggest ones now can consume as much power as an entire city and they have to basically run around the clock and they often need short bursts of power.” (02:11)

• Renewable Energy's Role: Renewable energy sources are identified as the quickest means to augment the national power grid. The tech industry's reliance on these sources is underscored, with concerns that removing tax credits could stall planned renewable projects:

  “Renewables are the fastest source to bring online in the next couple of years. They’re expected to account for most of the new power generation in this country.” (02:11)

• Economic Implications: Higher energy costs pose a dual threat: while tech companies might absorb the increased expenses, consumers would bear the brunt, leading to broader economic challenges.

  “Tech companies running these data centers can probably stomach higher prices, but consumers can’t.” (02:11)

• Lobbying Efforts and Political Dynamics: The coalition’s lobbying efforts involve both industry groups and private discussions with lawmakers. Despite bipartisan efforts to preserve the tax credits, fiscal conservatives within the party express skepticism about increasing spending on subsidies.

  “The tech industry and the data center coalition face an uphill battle still to get what they want out of the clean energy tax credit discussion.” (04:37)

Conclusion: While the coalition is making significant strides in advocating for the preservation of clean energy tax credits, the outcome remains uncertain amidst political and economic challenges. The tech industry's proactive stance marks a pivotal moment in its engagement with energy policy, emphasizing the interdependence between technology infrastructure and sustainable energy solutions.

2. ‘Sextortion’ Scams Exploit Apple's Messaging Platform to Target Teens

Overview: In a troubling development, sextortion scams have evolved to exploit Apple's built-in Messages app, targeting teenage boys with increased sophistication and deception. Unlike traditional scams on platforms like Snapchat, these schemes leverage the inherent trust and security associated with Apple's messaging system to manipulate and extort young users.

Key Points:

• Mechanism of the Scam: Fraudsters initiate contact by posing as teenage girls, gradually building rapport with their targets. Once trust is established, the conversation transitions to the Messages app, where the scammers can exert more persistent pressure.

  “They pose as teen girls, share nude photos and ask for ones in return. Once boys reciprocate, the scammer demands money and threatens to share the boys’ photos with their social media followers if they don’t pay a ransom.” (07:24)

• AI's Role in Enhancing Scams: While artificial intelligence can facilitate these scams by automating interactions and creating convincing personas, the crux of the threat remains in the exploitation of genuine user behavior.

  “AI can be part of these scams, but teenage boys are still sharing their own nude images as well.” (08:20)

• Apple's Messaging Platform Advantage: The trust teens place in the Messages app is partly due to its user-friendly interface and the visual cue of the blue text bubbles, indicating messages from other Apple devices. This familiarity makes it harder for teens to discern fraudulent communications.

  “They see that blue text bubble, they tend to believe that it is a teenager.” (07:24)

• Psychological and Emotional Impact: The relentless nature of these scams has led to severe consequences, including tragic cases where victims, overwhelmed by threats and extortion, have taken their own lives.

  “...children have taken their own lives as a result of being victims of this scam.” (11:04)

• Apple's Response and Safety Measures: Although Apple has not directly commented on the scams, the company has implemented child safety features within the Messages app. These include automatic blurring of unsolicited nude images and warnings for users attempting to send such content. However, these features require parental activation and awareness.

  “They have a communication safety feature, which is on by default for the accounts of kids under the age of 13. And then parents can turn that on...” (09:53)

• Parental Concerns and Calls for Enhanced Protections: Affected parents express frustration over the lack of direct reporting mechanisms within the Messages app, contrasting it with other social media platforms that offer more straightforward ways to flag and report abusive behavior.

  “The parents I spoke to did say that they wish they had received some sort of notification, that they wish there had been something that tipped them off that this was happening.” (11:04)

• Prevalence of the Scam: While other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat report millions of suspected child exploitation cases, Apple's reporting appears significantly lower, raising questions about detection and reporting efficacy.

  “On Instagram, WhatsApp, which is part of Meta and Snapchat, tech companies have reported huge numbers of instances of suspected child exploitation. ... Apple reported just 250.” (11:44)

Conclusion: The exploitation of Apple's Messages app for sextortion scams represents a concerning evolution in cybercrimes targeting young individuals. Despite existing safety features, the lack of proactive reporting tools and the sophisticated manipulation tactics employed by scammers necessitate enhanced measures and increased awareness among parents and guardians to safeguard teenagers from such threats.

3. Insights on Building Trustworthy AI Solutions

Overview: Amidst discussions on energy and security, the briefing also touches upon the broader theme of building effective and trustworthy AI-powered solutions. Hrithika Gunner of IBM emphasizes the importance of robust AI governance to ensure reliability and safety in organizational AI deployments.

Key Points:

• Unlocking Unstructured Data: Generative AI plays a pivotal role in harnessing unstructured data—such as emails, PDFs, and PowerPoint presentations—enabling organizations to derive actionable insights and integrate them seamlessly into workflows.

  “Generative AI has allowed us to unlock the opportunity to be able to take the 90% of data that is buried in unstructured formats...” (05:57)

• AI Governance and Policy Enforcement: Establishing comprehensive AI data strategies involves understanding data usage, enforcing privacy policies, and continuously updating safety and security measures to maintain robust AI systems.

  “It is about really understanding what kind of policy enforcement you want to have on the right guardrail on privacy enforcement.” (13:17)

• Flywheel Effect of AI Integration: Effective AI governance not only ensures safety but also fosters innovation, leading to the development of more engaging and capable AI-infused applications within organizations.

  “We end up seeing a flywheel effect of more AI that is actually built and infused into applications...” (13:37)

Conclusion: Building trustworthy AI solutions hinges on meticulous data management, stringent policy enforcement, and ongoing governance. Organizations that prioritize these aspects can leverage AI to enhance their operations, drive innovation, and maintain user trust in an increasingly data-driven landscape.

Final Thoughts: Today's Tech News Briefing underscores the intricate balance between technological advancement and ethical, sustainable practices. From the energy dependencies of AI-driven data centers to the vulnerabilities of young users in the digital age, the episode highlights the multifaceted challenges and the imperative for proactive solutions in the tech industry.