Business reporter

Ethan Baron

Ethan Baron is a business reporter for the Bay Area News Group and a native of Silicon Valley before it was Silicon Valley. Baron has worked as a reporter, columnist, editor and photographer in newspapers and magazines for 25 years, covering business, politics, social issues, crime, the environment, outdoor sports, war and humanitarian crises. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BA in humanities and MA in journalism.

Elon Musk departs after a welcome ceremony in Beijing.

Lawsuit claims Elon Musk’s AI company chatbot Grok produced child pornography based on woman’s childhood rapes

August 31, 2026 at 12:26 p.m.

Musk's xAI is fighting another lawsuit claiming Grok created sexualized "deep fake" images of people.

An illustration encapsulating the idea that crime writers must be aware of digital surveillance for villains.

Crime writers’ new conundrum: How to get away with murder when cameras are everywhere

August 22, 2026 at 10:21 a.m.

Because disappearing is much harder in the age of mass surveillance, crime writers often turn to deception.

AI giants may soon enter your retirement portfolio. Should you worry?

June 29, 2026 at 11:16 a.m.

OpenAI and Anthropic both anticipate going public, yet they remain unprofitable.

A pangolin, a species threatened with extinction, is sold near Buchanan, Liberia on Feb. 28, 2013 (Ethan Baron/Bay Area News Group)

Report: Facebook found to be ‘central public infrastructure’ for criminals selling endangered wild animals

May 7, 2026 at 7:08 p.m.

Report cites 'loss of irreplaceable species such as elephants for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, pangolins for their scales, and countless parrots, primates, small mammals and reptiles for the...

Protestors march outside the Concord Immigration Court on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Concord, Calif. Officials canceled hearings scheduled for afternoon court session. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

California immigration judge sues over ouster amid what lawyer describes as purge of federal workers who don’t support Trump

May 6, 2026 at 2:31 p.m.

Terminations came amid deportation push.

It is unclear whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk's offer to pay the salaries of Transportation Security Administration officers is legally permissible, as federal workers are typically paid through congressional appropriations and subject to strict rules governing compensation. (JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/AP FILE)

Grok and other ‘nudification’ apps offered by Google and Apple put Silicon Valley at center of global outrage

February 21, 2026 at 10:10 a.m.

Apps that allow women and girls to be digitally stripped have sparked investigations from California to Europe.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presents Orion AR glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on September 25, 2024.

Lawsuit: Meta allowed sex-trafficking posts on Instagram as it put profit over kids’ safety

November 28, 2025 at 6:43 p.m.

'Meta allowed its products to infiltrate classrooms, disrupt learning environments, and contribute directly to the youth mental health crisis,' lawsuit claims.

Lauren Gonzalves, a cancer care social worker, is seen at her home in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. Gonzalves uses the Counterforce website, which works with AI to help individuals dispute medical bills. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Insurance company repeatedly denied her medical claim, then AI delivered victory

September 18, 2025 at 10:11 a.m.

Chatbot and appeal-letter generator offered by Counterforce Health app, co-founded by medical researcher after wife's denials.

Rick Parfitt talks about clearing flammable materials in a five foot perimeter at his home in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

How to defend a home from wildfire: UC Berkeley researchers’ lessons from infernos

September 9, 2025 at 12:35 p.m.

Three key lessons for protecting homes from wildfire emerged, two of them applying to individual homeowners and one requiring community-wide action.

H-1B application documents in 2000 (Meri Simon/Bay Area News Group)

H-1B visas: Federal government mandates in-person interviews for overseas renewals

August 12, 2025 at 12:03 p.m.

Delays expected abroad and at home.

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