Former Obama Adviser: Big Tech and the Government Aren't Doing Enough
*By Madison Alworth*
Irish regulators have officially launched an investigation into Facebook's latest data breach ー one which could affect 50 million user accounts and is thought to be the single biggest hack of the company's network yet.
The country's Data Protection Commission will now decide whether to fine the social media giant, a penalty that could amount to as much as $1.63 billion.
For Dipayan Ghosh, a former adviser to President Obama and an ex-privacy policy exec at Facebook ($FB) itself, it's a move that should be emulated by U.S. authorities too.
"We do need the U.S. to be bringing forth these regulations for the digital age, because if we leave it to our international competitors, to jurisdictions outside of the United States, it's likely that they will set rules for Silicon Valley, which is an American industry, in a ways that is actually in their interest," Ghosh said in an interview with Cheddar this week.
Ghosh, currently a Pozen Fellow at Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, recently published a report titled, ["Digital Deceit: A Policy Agenda to Fight Disinformation on the Internet"](https://www.newamerica.org/public-interest-technology/reports/digital-deceit-ii/executive-summary/?mod=article_inline), in which he argued that tech companies are not only unequipped to properly regulate their content and users’ data, but they’re largely unwilling to do so.
"I think it's long and gone for the industry to take voluntary measures to move by itself and do something for the little guy, for the individual, for the consumer, for the voter," he said. "We have seen the industry have lots of opportunities to do that in the past, and it simply has not taken the right steps to protect the public interest."
Ghosh noted that big tech has been operating much like the Wild West, but U.S. lawmakers are getting wise, and the race to set regulation is on.
But the data breach is only one problem facing the company. News of the hack came only days after the departure of Instagram co-founders [Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger](https://cheddar.com/videos/instagram-co-founders-call-it-quits) from Facebook. Their exit signals a larger issue at the social media giant — and the timing is significant.
"For its founders to leave after a few years is incredible news. We imagine Facebook as a fantastic, huge technological force and innovative organization," Ghosh said. "And for these two key individuals to be leaving the company at this stage is pretty incredible. It suggests that they want to strike out new and find new opportunities for innovation."
Facebook has been struggling with one bad headline after another for months ー from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, to questionable ad targeting, to misuse of its platform around election. The stock had been able to withstand most of that until this summer. Since its last earnings report in July, shares have lost a full quarter of their value.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/big-tech-has-big-problems).
Twitter announced a partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices on Thursday to build the S&P 500 Sentiment Index for monitoring the performance of 200 S&P members based on tweets with company $cashtags. Jared Podnos, strategic market development lead at Twitter, and Peter Roffman, global head of innovation and strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, joined Cheddar to provide some background on the partnership and to explain exactly how monitoring companies through public opinion will work. "[The S&P] taps into this conversation. They understand the real-time conversation as well as the historical trends, and then we can analyze that and understand the consumer sentiment and really build these innovative products around that conversation," Podnos added.
Cognitive healthcare platform BrainCheck recently raised $10 million in a Series B round. The platform offers neurologists a new way to detect and care for brain disorders like Alzeheimer's, and brain injuries like concussions. BrainCheck CEO Yael Katz joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Jean-Denis Mariani, the chief digital officer at COTY, the parent company for major brands like Bottega Veneta, Burberry, and Kylie Skin, joined Cheddar to talk about the impact of the pandemic on the beauty industry and the rapid shift to e-commerce sales. "There is no digital strategy anymore, only strategy in a digital world," he said. Mariani also talked about personalized makeup selection for consumers as the beauty sector begins to incorporate technology like artificial intelligence.
Amid an ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage, American automaker Ford has decided to open up supply chains of its own. Karl Brauer, an executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, joined Cheddar to discuss Ford's new partnership with multinational semiconductor maker GlobalFoundries to build those chips domestically. Brauer praised Ford for the move both for ongoing supply woes and the future of automobile manufacturing. "It's not just the supply chain," he said. "It's not just about getting chips, but maybe getting chips that are more customized and specific to your needs."
Gerald Johnson, Executive VP, Global Manufacturing and Sustainability at General Motors, joins Cheddar News to break down what Factory ZERO signifies for GM's all-electric future and why the auto manufacturer will be a leader in the growing EV industry.
Airlines are gearing up for a busy winter season as they continue to rebound from the pandemic. But jet fuel prices combined with the ongoing labor shortage could put a damper on those holiday gains. Christian Vernet, president of La Compagnie, the only all business class airline in the world, joined Cheddar for an update on the state of the airline industry and how it's dealing with the surge in demand after the U.S. reopened its border to international visitors.
Cadillac is launching its first ever all-electric vehicle. The 2023 Lyriq boasts an estimated 300 mile range, $60,000 dollar starting price, a 33-inch advanced LED display, among many other features. The rollout comes as Cadillac has posted record third quarter global sales and plans to become all-electric by 2030. Rory Harvey, vice president of Cadillac, joined Cheddar to discuss what drivers can expect from the Lyriq, and how the brand has been able to deal with the ongoing chip shortage.
Spotify has officially made its lyrics feature available to users globally after piloting the program in various countries. Now, users can read the lyrics while listening to their favorite songs on th app.
Linda Pouliot, Co-Founder and CEO of Dishcraft, joins 'Cheddar Innovates' to discuss how its robotics is transforming the role of a dishwasher in restaurant kitchens.
