*By Jacqueline Corba*
With 10 percent of all internet traffic running through its service, Cloudflare is positioned to play a larger role in protecting user data online, said its chief revenue officer Chris Merritt.
"We play an important part of the ecosystem," said Merritt. "We have a responsibility to act responsibly."
In an interview with Cheddar's Hope King at Netsuite-18 in Las Vegas, Merritt said internet users are looking for better resources to protect their data, but they still want quick and easy access to information. Cloudfare can help, he said, by connecting consumers and the businesses trying to reach them to the internet at the same time in a sort of "network effect."
"If we are the fastest DNS provider for consumers, and also the fastest DNS provider for businesses together there's that benefit," said Merritt.
This month, Cloudflare launched its first consumer product called 1.1.1.1, which speeds up users' access to the internet and adds another layer of data protection.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cloudflare-chief-revenue-officer-chris-merritt-on-future-of-data-security).
The Trump administration has issued its first warnings to online services that offer unofficial versions of popular drugs like the blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.
Parents of teenagers who died by suicide after interacting with AI chatbots are set to testify before Congress.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
