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Sep 26, 2025

Bytes: Week in Review - Big Tech/small tech divide over $100K visa fee, SIM card farm threatens UN, and "Tomb Raider" fans slam AI voice swap

Axios tech policy reporter Maria Curi joins Marketplace’s Nova Safo on “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

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Bytes: Week in Review - Big Tech/small tech divide over $100K visa fee, SIM card farm threatens UN, and "Tomb Raider" fans slam AI voice swap
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The tech industry is still contending with President Donald Trump's new, $100,000 fee on incoming H-1B visas. Now that the dust has settled, we'll dig into the details and some of the lingering unknowns.

Plus, secret service authorities dismantled a network of more than 100,000 SIM cards in what they say could have been one of the most sweeping communications threats ever uncovered in the U.S.

And French fans of the video game franchise “Tomb Raider” were up in arms over an AI-generated voice in the newest game.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios for this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

More on everything we talked about

A $100,000 Per Worker Visa Fee Tips the Balance to Big Tech - from The New York Times

State of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry - from the Semiconductor Industry Association

A massive telecom threat was stopped right as world leaders gathered at UN headquarters in New York - from The Associated Press

How ‘SIM farms’ like the one found near the UN could collapse telecom networks - from PBS News

AI-cloning of Lara Croft’s voice has ‘Tomb Raider’ fans and actors up in arms - from The Associated Press

The Team

Bytes: $100K visa fee, SIM card farm, and "Tomb Raider" AI