*By Alisha Haridasani*
Regulating how tech companies use consumers' personal data could help them grow and innovate, said the billionaire tech investor Steve Ballmer.
“You actually do need regulators across the world to provide some framework,” said Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar's CEOJon Steinberg. “When you’re in a time of uncertainty, and you don’t know what the rules are, that’s when it’s toughest to innovate.”
Silicon Valley has been grappling with privacy concerns for years, said Ballmer. “It takes, sometimes, a crisis to get things to move,” he said, and Facebook may have provided that impetus.
Even before the social media company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in Congress last month about the Cambridge Analytica data privacy breach, analysts and lawmakers had been discussing possible regulation. Since Zuckerberg's two-day grilling on Capitol Hill, Facebook and its competitors have had to consider new rules governing data privacy ー voluntary or imposed.
“They’re going to have to work hard to manage, whether it’s partly their own initiative or some regulation,” said Ballmer. “I trust they’ll get through it, I have a lot of belief in the people who run that company.”
Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates as the chief executive of Microsoft in 2000 and served as CEO until 2014. During his tenure, Microsoft faced immense competition from Apple. Ballmer oversaw Microsoft's entry into cloud computing services with Azure, the Windows software redesign, and the launch of the XBox game console.
But, by the time Ballmer resigned, smartphones and tablets were eating into the personal computer business, and the company needed a radical turn around. He was succeeded by current CEO Satya Nadella, who has implemented [a cultural shift](https://cheddar.com/videos/microsoft-cmo-says-rivalry-with-apple-is-a-thing-of-the-past) at the company that is driving growth.
Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, also runs USAFacts, a company he founded to try to make government data more accessible.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/from-microsoft-to-basketball-steve-ballmer-on-creating-a-winning-team-with-la-clippers).
API platform RapidAPI recently became a unicorn with a $1 billion valuation after raising $150 million in a Series D funding round led by Softbank Vision Two Fund. Microsoft's Venture Fund, M12, and Andreessen Horowitz also participated. RapidAPI says it provides the world's largest API hub which enables millions of developers and companies to build software faster. Iddo Gino, founder and CEO of RapidAPI, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Facebook parent Meta officially has changed it’s ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’. Paul Meeks, a portfolio manager, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, and a professor of practice in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the tech giant has had to make big changes to its name, its ticker, and its business plans. "When you see what's happening in digital advertising — and there was a slowdown there even before the threat of a recession, which could cause a even more drastic slowdown next year — they had to pivot," he said. Meeks noted he sees Facebook dominating in the metaverse space going forward — whatever that may end up being.
In a recent Bumble survey, more than a third of respondents revealed that they would be willing to date people in other cities. Shan Boodram, a sex and relationships expert for the app, joined Cheddar News to talk about the long-distance dating trend and tips on how to go about taking part. "I think this is the magic of what we experienced over the past couple of years, is that we have already learned the tools necessary to stay connected with people despite not being able to be close to them," she noted. Boodram also pointed to Bumble's travel mode and using video conferencing in order to ease into such relationships.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
