*By Mike Teich*
A sweeping data privacy bill has been approved in California, but it may be too late for internet users to protect their information, said former National Counterterrorism Center officer Dave White.
"You have to consider yourself compromised," he said. "You’ve already given your data away."
Experts are calling it the nation's most far-reaching law to give consumers more control over their personal data. Under the law, customers can request what personal data companies have collected and what third parties have received it.
The passing of the historical bill didn't come without criticism. The ACLU of Northern California said the legislation falls "woefully short" in defending individuals' rights.
"It's a great first step," White said. However, “it doesn’t go far enough."
Companies that collect user data, from Amazon to Microsoft to Uber, lobbied aggressively against the law, pouring millions into a [opposition campaigns](https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/15/17468292/amazon-microsoft-uber-california-consumer-privacy-act).
But consumer advocates called it a milestone victory. "Today was a [huge win](http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/california-consumer-privacy-act/index.html) and gives consumer privacy advocates a blueprint for success," James P. Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. "We look forward to working together with lawmakers across the nation to ensure robust data privacy protections for all Americans."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/california-passes-historic-privacy-bill).
A top tech expert says there's "a bunch of really great work" happening as different sectors collaborate amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital banking startup SoFi has agreed to acquire payments startup Galileo Financial Technologies for $1.2 billion.
Tammy Erwin, Executive VP and Group CEO of Verizon Business, joined ChedHER to discuss how her team is responding to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
Experts maintain that despite social distancing and quarantining measures during the coronavirus pandemic, people should still attempt to socialize "serendipitously" and commit to acts of kindness to mitigate the stress.
New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham said Thursday that the floor of the exchange will "absolutely reopen" as soon as it is "safe to do so."
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a stunning collapse in the U.S. workforce, with 10 million people losing their jobs in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed infections worldwide has hit 1 million, with more than 50,000 deaths, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The automaker revealed that it will be able to produce 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days. The ventilators' design has been simplified by the private medical company Airon for easy set-up and quick usage in emergency settings.
In a letter to CEOs of DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, and Uber, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the employers to provide gig workers with "basic rights and protections" as they perform "essential delivery work."
Steve Hafner, CEO of OpenTable and KAYAK, said that the company is focusing on helping out in these difficult times.
Robintrack, a service that keeps counts of how many Robinhood users own a particular stock, shows that its userbase has been loading up on stocks harshly affected by the outbreak.
