*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).
Rather than having users manually enter every single transaction, Cointracker automatically tracks activity across 14 different exchanges. "It's totally independent from what other companies have done," says the co-founder Chandan Lodha.
The social media giant reported better-than-expected earnings, despite questions about its privacy and data security. [But the real impact of the Cambridge Analytica scandal will only be reflected in the next quarter, says Damon Beres, Executive Editor at Mashable.](https://mashable.com/2018/04/25/facebook-q1-2018-earnings/)
The Netherlands is the best place to test new innovations in the autonomous vehicles space, according to a recent report from KPMG. That's thanks to great infrastructure and political support, says Florien van der Windt, Project Manager of Connected and Automated Driving at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
The second generation of Snap's smart glasses are available for sale in the U.S. starting today. Prices start at $150 and come in a variety of colors. Cheddar Senior Reporter Alex Heath broke news of the launch back in March.
The company, which manages and routes 10 percent of all internet traffic, says its new product 1.1.1.1 will keep consumers' data away from network providers.
The social media network saw growth in ad revenue and daily active users and indicated that, despite the Cambridge Analytica scandal, its outlook appeared bright. “The numbers are great, and I think that Facebook is going to move higher from here,” says Andrew Keene, Chief Executive of AlphaShark.com.
For years, Facebook kept its internal policy guidelines under wraps because "they didn't want people to game the system," says Axios' Sara Fischer. On Tuesday, the social media network changed course and made those guidelines public, after backlash over how it handles sensitive content.
"This is our way of clearly explaining, publicly, how we enforce these rules" around hate speech or harassment, says Monika Bickert, the social network's VP of Global Policy Management. Facebook has repeatedly come under fire for how it decides which content violates its policies and needs to be pulled down. Now, it is making its guidelines public for the first time and will allow users to appeal their decisions.
Facebook consults experts and organizations to determine whether or not content on its site violates policy and should be removed, says Monika Bickert, the company's VP of Global Policy Management. The social media network has repeatedly come under fire for those decisions. Now, in a bid to increase transparency, Facebook is making its guidelines public for the first time and will let users appeal their decisions.
Gmail is getting a makeover. On Wednesday, Google introduced a redesign of its hugely popular email platform. The new features include confidentiality mode and smart reply. Google is rolling out the update starting today, but it won't be immediately available to all 1.4 billion users worldwide.
Twitter reported earnings before the bell Wednesday, beating expectations on earnings and revenue. This marks the second profitable quarter in a row for the social media company. Cheddar senior reporter Alex Heath joins Kristen Scholer and Tim Stenovec to discuss what's in store for the rest of the year.
And we talk to comedian Rob Schneider about his Netflix show, "Real Rob." The show is loosely based on Schneider's life. He says the dynamic between him and his wife on the show is similar to Lucy and Ricky from "I Love Lucy." He also tells us what stocks he's most excited about.
