These states are on track to pass data privacy laws this year

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Over the last decade there has been a reckoning over how digital companies collect personal data, what they do with it, and whether or not they’re capable of protecting it. Online data collection is still not regulated at the federal level in the U.S. But states are slowly embracing policies to ensure that digital companies protect their users—or at least introduce more transparency. Illinois led the way in 2008 with the Biometric Information Privacy Act, a law that lets Illinois residents sue companies that collect their biometric data (face scans, fingerprints, etc.) without their consent. After Europe passed the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016, which entitles people to obtain any data collected on them and have their records deleted, California decided to use it as a framework for its own law. Two years later it introduced its version of the GDPR, called the California Consumer Privacy Act . California has since passed an amendment , called the California Privacy Rights Act, that clarifies the original law and adds a governing body called the California Privacy Protection Agency that can bring action against violators. Read More …

5 hidden Google gems you aren’t using—yet

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For a tool most of us use every day to find stuff on the web, Google has more than a few helpful tricks up its sleeve that aren’t super apparent unless you know where to look. Here are a few I’ve found recently that have saved me countless clicks, spared me visits to garishly designed apps, and generally made things a little less complicated. Order up some food There are enough food-ordering services out there that you might starve before flipping through them all to find something you want. Instead, just navigate to orderfood.google.com , and you’ll be presented with a map of nearby restaurants that offer pickup and delivery. Google pulls in listings from popular apps and services and lets you browse by category if you’re in the mood for a particular style of food. Once you’re ready to order, you can do so via a clean, easy, very Google-like interface instead of being shuttled off to a third-party app or site Read More …

These are the ways self-regulation could fix Big Tech’s worst problems

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Governments and observers across the world have repeatedly raised concerns about the monopoly power of Big Tech companies and the role the companies play in disseminating misinformation. In response, Big Tech companies have tried to preempt regulations by regulating themselves . With Facebook’s announcement that its Oversight Board will make a decision about whether former President Donald Trump can regain access to his account after the company suspended it, this and other high-profile moves by technology companies to address misinformation have reignited the debate about what responsible self-regulation by technology companies should look like. Read More …

Try this creative tactic to improve an idea or hone your pitch

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After explaining an idea to a friend, I’ll often ask them to explain it back to me. Not only does that help me understand whether the idea is landing, but it also helps me pick up new ways to explain it. When I first thought about writing this book, the bestselling author Dan Pink listened to my pitch and then explained it back to me, only far more eloquently Read More …