The Federal Communications Commission just killed net neutrality. The agency voted to repeal regulations that make the future of the internet and the way consumers use it a lot murkier. Andrew McCollum, CEO of Philo, an internet television company that recently introduced a streaming live TV service, joined us to share why he is worried about a world without net neutrality.
The FCC voted to reverse a 2015 decision by the Obama Administration that aimed to protect Americans on the internet. McCollum is concerned that without the regulations, services like Philo become prone to "unfair prioritization by internet providers." It's not only a loss for companies. He believes strong net neutrality rules also protect the consumer.
As a co-founder of Facebook, McCollum says he got a glimpse of how difficult it would be for companies to innovate in a world without protections for net neutrality. He shares that colleges that did not like Facebook would block students from gaining access because they acted as the internet providers. With such limitations, he questions whether an era of internet innovation is coming to a halt.
Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, isn't buying into the Netflix hype even after the good Q3 earnings.
Discord, initially a popular app for in-game messaging, is launching a store with hundreds of games users can access for a monthly fee. Jason Citron, co-founder and CEO of Discord, said the company's growth is a "side effect" of gaming becoming more social.
MedMen, which just completed the largest pot-related acquisition to date in America, is preparing for the day when American drug laws catch up, said spokesman Daniel Yi.
Atari, the popular French gaming company, is now open to investments from U.S. investors through its new affiliation with with Nasdaq International. Frederic Chesnais, CEO of Atari, told Cheddar about the partnership.
Loren Padelford, Shopify vice president and general manager, had spent Wednesday morning monitoring the cannabis transactions taking place on Canadian Shopify-powered sites and said the demand was outpacing even his company's bullish forecasts.
Canada legalized recreational marijuana use on Wednesday, making it the second country to do so. Netflix stock is surging after the streaming giant added a record number of subscribers in the third quarter. Plus, Anthony Atamanuik and Adam Pally from Comedy Central's 'The President Show' join Cheddar to talk about their new special 'The Fall Of Donald Trump.'
Auction house Christie's will put up its first-ever painting created entirely by artificial intelligence. Lindsay Griffith, a specialist at Christie's, said the painting is likely to fetch as much as $10,000.
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Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and venture capital firm Initialized Capital, has partnered with 1850 Brand Coffee for the "Bold Pioneer" content where people pitch their ideas to win $18,500 to jump-start their business plan. Ohanian said he's looking for entrepreneurs who are thinking outside the box and making investors "a little uncomfortable."
The video streaming service added nearly 7 million subscribers in the third quarter, far better than forecast, and said it would add nearly another 10 million to round out the year.
