*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).
Eva Chen has spent the past three years turning Instagram into the go-to platform for fashion. Now the app's director of fashion partnerships is channeling her expertise into a new children's book, "Juno Valentine and The Magical Shoes."
With a dismal October on the books, investors are now looking to Thursday's earnings report from Apple for signs that tech stocks are ready to rebound. The trillion-dollar company will report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell. Analysts are estimating about 48 million iPhones and 11 million iPads were sold in the three-month period, with earnings per share of $2.78 on roughly $62 billion in revenues.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was notably forthcoming during the social media company's Tuesday earnings conference call, particularly about fellow tech competition. But comparing itself to Apple might just be Facebook's latest brilliant political maneuver.
Keith McCarty, CEO and founder of Wayv, wanted to offer easier solutions for consumers of cannabis. Wayv essentially acts like the "Amazon for weed," according to McCarty, and is a place for retailers and brands.
HSBC U.S. has entered the personal loans arms race through a partnership with the online lender Avant, in the decades-old institution's latest initiative to bring its business further into the digital-first present, level the playing field between banks and start-ups, and grow its domestic brand. Jeremy Balkin, head of innovation at HSBC's U.S. franchise, shared the bank's strategy with Cheddar.
When serial entrepreneur Samuel Ian Rosen topped his water bottle at an airport fill station and took a drink, it left a bad taste in his mouth. Rather than let the taste linger, Rosen founded water technology company Tap to ensure drinkers never fall prey to stale water ー or plastic bottles ー again.
The markets looked to recover losses for October in the last day of trading for the month. Facebook shares were making solid gains on the heels of its third-quarter earnings results. Revenue slowed but the company beat estimates on earnings per share. Plus, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an Ecuadorian immigrant running to represent Florida's 26th district, tells Cheddar the changes she would make if elected to office. The midterms are just six days out.
In the fight to save broadcast from cord cutters and big tech, television streamer Locast has an ambitious plan: increase and improve the data available to traditional broadcasters. "What I'd like to be able to do is help broadcasters with their advertising, reaching the audiences that are online," Locast's chairman David Goodfriend told Cheddar Wednesday.
Deloitte Digital CMO Alicia Hatch told Cheddar that the exploding adoption of mobile devices will drive consumers to embrace the value of AR in more of their everyday lives. "We've been in a mobile world for a while, but the number of devices, and the ubiquity of them, will allow us to have fewer barriers to entry to actually be using AR and have it threaded through our lives."
Known for disrupting the "Big Mattress" industry as one of the original digitally native, direct-to-consumer brands, Casper is set to open 200 new brick-and-mortar locations around the world. It's part of what CMO Jeff Brooks says is a strategy to meet the consumer wherever they are, on their terms. (And it helps the company stand out in a crowded marketplace, too.)
