*By Conor White*
California's new sweeping privacy bill, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, is set to go into effect in 2020, and Common Sense Media CEO and founder Jim Steyer, who was involved in the drafting process, said it's a major development.
"I went and met with the CEOs of most of the major tech companies," Steyer, also a civil rights attorney, said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. "One by one, led by Apple and Salesforce, they said, 'Hey, let's cut a deal here.'"
Steyer's company produces consumer reports for media from the perspective of kids and family. It's among the largest advocacy groups of its kind for data privacy.
California's new bill [contains a robust series](https://iapp.org/news/a/california-passes-landmark-privacy-legislation/) of built-in privacy measures. It stipulates that anyone 16 or younger must opt in to allow a site or app to save their data ー the reverse of the more passive "opt-out" choices that many companies currently offer. The implications are serious, since according to the bill, companies will no longer be able to siphon data by default. The bill will likely have a similar impact to Europe's recently enacted [General Data Protection Regulation](https://www.eugdpr.org/).
"This is, essentially, the de facto national privacy law for the United States," Steyer said. "On Facebook you are the product. Your information and data is what they're selling to advertisers."
Now, thanks to California's privacy act, the consumer will own the data and therefore control it.
Steyer said the issue is one of "speed," since many of the major platforms evolved at "warp" levels. This prevented users from fully understanding the privacy effects.
But now, he added, change is upon us ー especially after the public caught wind of violations like Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
"When Larry and Sergei started Google they had the 'Do no evil' slogan," Steyer said. "And I think we intuitively thought that all tech was good."
Although some have speculated that Facebook and its peers will have to change the way they conduct business, tech giants' survival is the least of Steyer's worries.
"We should not weep any tears for the people at Facebook. They are an incredibly successful company, and they will adapt," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-privacy-still-matters).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
