Why Am I Getting All These Terms of Service Update Emails? – CWEB.com

BY  DANNY O’BRIEN

MAY 7, 2018

Anyone looking at their inbox in the last few months might think that the Internet companies have collectively returned from a term-of-service writers’ retreat. Company after company seem to have simultaneously decided that your privacy is tremendously important to them, and collectively beg you take a look at their updated terms of service and privacy policies.

You might assume that this privacy rush is connected to the ongoing Cambridge Analytica scandal, and  Mark Zuckerberg’s recent face-off with Congress. It’s certainly true that Facebook itself has been taking some voluntary steps to revamp its systems in direct response to pressure from politicians  in the U.S.  and  abroad. But most of the companies that are sending you email right now are doing so because of their own, independent privacy spring-cleaning. And that’s almost entirely due to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on May 25th. Most companies that have users in Europe are scrambling to update their privacy policies and terms of service to avoid breaking this new EU law.

The GDPR  strongly encourages  clarity in “information addressed to the public” about privacy — making now an excellent time for companies to provide clearer and more detailed descriptions of what data they collect, and what use they put it to.

Then again, those updates might be a little overdue. Companies were always supposed to do this under European law — and, for that matter, Californian law too, which since 2003 has  required any service  that collects your private information to spell out in detail out their data use. But the additional penalties of the GDPR (with fines of up to 20 million euro, or 4% of global revenue) and increasing confidence of European data protection regulators have poked many international companies to finally pay closer attention to their legal obligations.

The EU regulators are certainly paying attention to these email updates. A  strongly-worded blog post  this week by EU’s head enforcer, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Giovanni Buttarelli, warned the public and his fellow regulators to be “vigilant about attempts to game the system”, adding that some of these new terms of service emails could be “travest[ies] of the spirit of the new regulation”.

What To Look For

So what might you look for in these changes? What are the potential good points, and where might Buttarelli’s travesties be hiding?

First, it depends on where you’re living. Companies aren’t under a legal obligation to implement the GDPR’s provisions for all their users. You may even be able to see those new geographical distinctions in their changed terms. People in Europe (not just EU citizens) must be protected under the new law, but it’s an open question whether Americans or those outside both regions will get the same treatment. You should be able to tell the details of those differences from the new policies. (Or not: Facebook, for instance, is only  showing its new, detailed legal justifications  for its data collection to users in Europe, and hiding that page from other users.)

Some of the changes may just involve refinements in terminology. What companies have to do to comply with the GDPR, for instance, greatly depends on whether they’re “data  controllers” or “data  processors” — roughly speaking, whether they have the responsibility to manage your data, or whether they’re just handling it on behalf of another party.

You may well see some frantic games of pass-the-parcel in the next few weeks as different services attempt to minimize or share their compliance burden. You can spot that in how they describe who is the “data controller” in their terms. For instance, Etsy, whose users are both buyers and sellers, has  changed its  language to emphasize that sellers are independent data controllers of your data. Google, meanwhile, has provoked a  furious response  from Europe’s media publishers, after it declared itself the controller for the data from the ads and trackers that publishers put on their own websites, but expected that the publishers were the ones responsible for obtaining consent to share this data.

Some of the other changes have a more immediate, positive result, though. The GDPR is an embodiment of the data protection rights spelled out in the EU’s  Charter of Fundamental Human Rights, which states:

Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her… Such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law. Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.

When it comes to changes in these terms, most of the work will be spelling out those “specified purposes” in more detail, as well as explaining why the company thinks they can legitimately process it under the GDPR.

But there may also be changes in your ability to look at the data itself, and change it. For instance, Twitter users can now  peer at the full pile of data  that that company has picked up on them from their tweets and cross-referenced advertisers databases. You can also delete data that you don’t want Twitter to keep using.

That right of access also means that you can take your information with you. Under the GDPR, companies have to provide  “data portability”  — which means that they should provide you with your data in a way that lets you easily move it to a competing service — at least if you are in Europe.

Again, some companies have already offered this ability. Google has offered  “Google Takeout”, Facebook its archive download feature, and Twitter its  tweet archive. But their implementations have often been  patchy and incomplete.

Now more companies will provide these data dumps. The pre-existing services have already  markedly improved. For users in the EU, they should also offer a way to truly and permanently delete your account and all its data.

Still, these are the kind of user-empowering features that some companies would rather you didn’t know too much about, so don’t be surprised if the only news you hear about them comes from poring over these changes to long documents.

As Buttarelli says, such “legal cover” might well be against the spirit of the GDPR, but it’s going to take a while for companies, regulators, and privacy groups to establish what the law’s sometimes ambiguous statements really mean. One particularly knotty problem is whether the language that many of these emails use (“by using our service, you agree to these terms”) will be acceptable under the GDPR. The regulation is explicit that in many areas, you need to give informed, unambiguous consent by “a statement or clear affirmative action.” Even more significantly, if the data being collected by a company isn’t necessary for the service it is offering, under the GDPR the company  should  give covered users the option to decline that data collection, but still allow them to use the service.

That’s what the EDPS is complaining about when he says that some of these terms of service updates could be “travesties”. If they are, you might find some more emails updates in your inbox. And so could the companies sending them–from the EU’s data protection regulators.

This article originally appeared on Eff.Org: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/why-am-i-getting-all-these-terms-service-update-emails

Many household products contain antimicrobial chemicals banned from soaps by the FDA – CWEB.com

Any antimicrobial chemicals in there?

Home image via www.shutterstock.com.

Erica Hartmann, Northwestern University

This year marks 20 years since Hasbro was fined for false advertising, claiming their Playskool toys laden with the antimicrobial chemical triclosan would keep kids healthier. It is also the year when soap manufacturers will finally have to remove the chemical from their products.

Triclosan is one example of a potentially hazardous chemical used in some antimicrobial products. The Food and Drug Administration recently banned it, along with 18 others chemicals, from hand soaps because of unacceptable risks to humans and the environment. Exposure to triclosan in general is linked with disruption of hormone function and the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

The FDA asked manufacturers to demonstrate that these chemicals are safe for long-term use and more effective than regular soap. Neither has been proven.

But these same chemicals are still used in many other products — including plush toys, pool wings, pacifier pockets, building blocks and even craft supplies like markers and scissors — without any label required. Some of these products are marketed as being antimicrobial, but many aren’t.

Because these products are not under the purview of the FDA, they aren’t subject to the ban, and companies aren’t required to reveal what makes them antimicrobial. This means it is hard for consumers to know what products contain these chemicals.

Why was triclosan banned in soaps?

Manufacturers failed to demonstrate that antimicrobial soaps were any more effective than regular soaps. Essentially, there are no reported benefits of antimicrobial soaps to outweigh the risks of using antimicrobial chemicals. So, are these chemicals any more effective in other products?

Overall, peer-reviewed research showing that household products and building materials containing antimicrobial chemicals, such as cutting boards and industrial flooring, harbor fewer bacteria is scant. Research further demonstrating that these products protect human health is essentially nonexistent. This indicates that, much like in soaps, triclosan in other products isn’t doing much good.

The FDA’s decision applies only to over-the-counter soaps sold to consumers, and not to soaps used in health care settings or any other consumer products or building materials not under the purview of the FDA.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXBP1t2rUc&w=560&h=315]

But some health care providers are deciding to skip the antimicrobials. For example, Kaiser Permanente, a major health care system, stopped purchasing soaps containing triclosan several years ago. And in 2015 the system announced it would no longer use paint and interior building products containing antimicrobial chemicals, citing a lack of evidence that they actually prevent disease along with safety concerns.

Not only does research suggest that antimicrobial products are ineffective at reducing microbes on the product, but several studies also suggest they may be causing an increase in antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic-resistant infections, such as MRSA, cause an estimated 23,000 deaths every year in the United States.

Research that I conducted at the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center at the University of Oregon demonstrated a troubling link, finding higher concentrations of triclosan and antibiotic resistance genes in dust in an athletic and educational facility. We are currently investigating how these antibiotic resistance genes can get into bacteria.

At the moment, it’s unclear how much of the triclosan we find in dust comes from soaps or other products, but triclosan has been found in almost every dust sample assayed worldwide. This suggests that the more antimicrobial chemicals we use in our homes, classrooms and offices, the more antibiotic-resistant bacteria we see there.

Again, it is worth noting that we have no evidence that using any antimicrobial products other than toothpaste, whether they are soaps or other household goods, makes us any healthier. There is even some evidence to the contrary: Without adequate exposure to the right microbes, our children may be at a higher risk of developing conditions like allergies and asthma.

Why it’s hard to know what products contain these chemicals

Let’s say, then, that we want to avoid products that contain triclosan or any of the other 18 antimicrobials banned in soap by the FDA. Should be fairly easy, right? Not so: Manufacturers are not required to tell us what makes their products antimicrobial.

Soaps are personal care products, which means they fall under the FDA’s jurisdiction. The agency requires that active ingredients such as triclosan be listed. For instance, triclosan is also found in some toothpastes, in which it has been proven effective against plaque, and it is listed on the label.

If you want to avoid buying soaps containing these chemicals before the ban goes into effect on Sept. 6 you just need to read the label. But products that are not under the agency’s jurisdiction are subject to different requirements, and don’t have to list the chemicals they contain. It is incredibly difficult — if not impossible — to find out exactly which products contain which antimicrobial chemicals.

Products that are marketed as being antimicrobial, for instance, often contain these chemicals. But not all products that contain antimicrobial chemicals are advertised as such.

Concerned consumers can get recommendations from advocacy groups like the Environmental Working Group and Beyond Pesticides. However, that information is focused largely on triclosan and not the additional 18 chemicals banned from soap. And as manufacturers reformulate products without making public announcements, information may be incomplete or out of date.

Consumers looking for a simple way to get comprehensive information about antimicrobial products are out of luck. But one consumer with an awful lot of resources is actually starting to collect this information: Google. The tech giant went to such great lengths to uncover the ingredients for products used in their facilities that it developed an online tool called Portico. Unfortunately for us, Portico isn’t yet available to the public.

It would help if regulators adopted consistent standards requiring common labeling practices, and if manufacturers were required to disclose hazardous ingredients. We need to know what chemicals are in the products, especially when those chemicals could have adverse effects on our health and our environment.

What can consumers do? We can apply pressure by calling on retailers to carry antimicrobial-free products and to require clear labels on products that contain chemicals banned by the FDA.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXBP1t2rUc&w=560&h=315]

Erica Hartmann, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Apple Closes In On A $1 Trillion Market Value – CWEB.com

Leslie Cohen
Managing Editor

Shares of Apple (AAPL)will begin trading ex-dividend on 05/11/18 with a $0.73 dividend payable to shareholders of record as of 05/14/18.

Apple traded up on Friday 5-04-2018 on the news that Warren Buffet-Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) purchased 75 million shares of the company.

Apple’s stock is up 6% on the year, only 1.5% off its all-time high. Apple is the most valuable company in the world. Apple could be the first company to reach a market value of $1 trillion. Apple has a market capitalization of about $935 billion as it reached an all-time high of $184.25 on Friday, May 4.^th

Apple would need to rise to $197.24 per share to obtain a $1 trillion market cap. That would be 7.4% above its current record high to reach the milestone.

Other companies are behind that goal. Alphabet shares Alphabet Inc. Class A NASDAQ: GOOGL is now are valued at roughly values at $719 billion;  Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) has a market cap of approximately $765 billion. (MSFT) is worth $724 billion.

Apple is making deals with publishers for exclusive video content, as it looks to compete with Facebook, Google and Twitter. Apple has been working to introduce a subscription-based plan into Apple News within the next year. It plans to produce lengthier video series on its platform, hoping to attract more publishers and revenue on the platform.

CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Buy Rating for  Apple (AAPL), and a Price Target of $290    

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Will The Federal Government Pass Along A Gas Tax To Help Fund A Massive Infrastructure Bill – CWEB.com

Leslie Cohen
Managing Editor

If the proposed Federal gas tax on consumer passes it would be the first one in 25 years. Obviously, most consumers would oppose a gas tax. People in favor of the bill say that say the people that use the roads should pay this tax.

Energy prices have been reaching higher in 2018 with crude oil prices up more than 10%. General Motors Company, (GM), Ford Motor Company NYSE: F and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) are all in for this gas tax to pass and give it a green light. The current tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents since 1993 with no increase since this time.

Infrastructure improvements, building charging stations will certainly boost jobs, and increase auto sales and would trigger more jobs at the Department of Transportation, including the contractors for these companies. We would see an uptick in demand for hiring more workers. The Ford’s F-150 truck would be in higher demand as this is the best-selling truck for labor workers in this field. This could clearly benefit the stock of Ford Motor Company.

With better fuel efficiency and higher numbers of electric cars on the road, the means for an alternative to the gas tax is needed to help the underfunded highways of America.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce states increasing the gas tax by 25 ¢ a gallon would generate $394 billion over the next 10 years. The average American would be paying about $9 a month extra.

The gas tax prompts energy independence because Americans don’t’ want to pay the extra tax.

Groupon Acquires Cloud Savings Company, Ltd. – CWEB.Com

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) announces it has acquired Cloud Savings Company, Ltd., parent company of online discount code platform Vouchercloud and brand loyalty provider Giftcloud, for $65 million.

Groupon stock price has risen since last summer by 60%. It was profitable on an adjusted basis to all of 2017. Many analysts see the stock rising in 2018. Groupon delivers record quarterly net income and adjusted EBITDA. 2018 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $260 million to $270 million.

Groupon Achieves 10% Gross Profit Growth in the Fourth Quarter.  As noted in the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Results CEO Rich Williams states “In 2017, we made progress in creating a better customer experience that removed friction for our customers while also maximizing gross profit,” “We are excited to build on this success in 2018, combining our growing mobile penetration and platform power to ultimately become the daily habit in local commerce for customers and merchants.”

CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Buy Rating for  Groupon Inc. (GRPN)  , and a Price Target of $8

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FDA Declines To Approve Pfizer Biosimilar Of Roche’s Cancer Drug – CWEB.com

U.S. regulators declined to approve the company’s biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster treatment for breast cancer, Herceptin.

Biologics are produced from living cells. They are very difficult to copy with exact precision. Generic type versions of these drugs are called biosimilars.

The fate of Pfizer (PFE) is in the spotlight. Challenging times ahead for the company as “Merck Sells Consumer Business”. Pfizer stated last October it was reviewing strategic alternatives for its consumer healthcare unit and is expected to make a decision in 2018.

Pfizer (PFE) chairman and CEO Ian Read talked with Citi Group analyst Andrew Baum and stated that an acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMS) is off the table for now.

Other contenders for Pfizer to acquire could be I think Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO), Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG), and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL).

Celgene dominates the market with the blood cancer,Revlimid and Pomalyst. Sangamo Therapeutics in common with Bristol-Myers Squibb is that is s already a partner with Pfizer. Pfizer could easily acquire Sangamo on the cheap for them. The small biotech’s market cap is $1.6 billion. Even though they don’t have a pipeline candidate beyond early stage clinical testing, Sangamo has been in the limelight from big drug makers with the leadership in zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) gene-editing technology. Pfizer may want to hold out and see how the clinical studies progress. However, buying Sangamo sooner than later could give Pfizer a massive long-term advantage as gene therapies gain traction.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXBP1t2rUc&w=560&h=315]

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ has a smaller market than Sangamo. An acquisition of the Sangamo would be relatively pretty easy for Pfizer. Buying Madrigal would give Pfizer and future with a promising drug for treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NYSEARCA:NASH). The drug ready to advance to late-stage clinical development.

CWEB Analyst’s have issued a Buy Rating for  Pfizer (PFE), and a Price Target of $60 within 12 months.

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Eli Lilly And Company Is Scheduled To Present First-Quarter Results – CWEB.com

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) this week, management is scheduled to present first-quarter results.

Eli Lilly and, Incyte Corporation, meet with the FDA on April 23. The two partners’ new rheumatoid arthritis tablet Olumiant sells to consumers in Europe. Her in the U.S. the FDA rejected an application last year citing evidence suggesting the drug could be linked to dangerous blood clots.

Incyte’s and Elu Lily’s application seven clinical trials that enrolled about 3,100 patients. It was found that Olumiant suppresses the immune system. Five patients in the trial received blood clots. Lilly looks to introduce the drug with a recommended 4 mg dose that tapers down to 2 mg, except for treatment-resistant patients. That would include running a new trial that could take years moving forward. The FDA is looking for more evidence that the drug is safe.

The drug Kevzara introduced by Novartis and Regeneron, Eli Lilly’s competitor are popular in the US. market. Pushing up sales and profits for the company is Eli Lilly’s drug Trulicity reaching 119% higher to $2.0 billion for all of 2018 and accelerated to a $2.6 billion annualized run rate during the last three months of the year.

Lilly Reports Additional Top-Line Results from CYRAMZA ® (ramucirumab) Phase 3 RANGE Study in Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer. According to the press release on Eli Lilly’s website- “People with advanced urothelial carcinoma who experience disease progression urgently need treatment options that can control the disease — to help stop or slow the cancer from growing and spreading,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president, global development and medical affairs, Lilly Oncology. “Although this study didn’t reach statistical significance for overall survival, we are encouraged by the totality of the RANGE results and look forward to reviewing the data with internal and external experts to determine next steps.”

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Sears Is Making A Comeback – CWEB.com

Sears (SHLD) is making a comeback right now and will sustain the momentum going forward.

There will be a conference center that will reside where the old Sears automotive building was and Sears will host an 18,000-square-foot facility selling home goods such as mattresses and appliances. Anything ordered online at  Sears.com  can also be picked up in these store locations. Three new tenants will be leasing a small portion of the Sears building.

For Sears, closing stores can be a path to profitability and beefing up their online presence. Sears has made a deal with Amazon to start selling its Kenmore-branded appliances online that are compatible with Amazon’s Alexa.

Comparing to all other retailers in the industry including Kohls, Costco, Nordstrom, Macys, Walmart, Amazon, Sears holding has a potential turnaround of going over $20-$30 within a year by focusing on shop your way and other new ventures.

Sears Holdings Corporation  (SHLD)  has been named a 2018 ENERGY STAR   ^®Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award winner for continued leadership in protecting our environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. In addition, the Kenmore brand has been named a 2018 ENERGY STAR   ^®Partner of the Year – Product Brand Owner. According to the EPA, it marks the first time a company has won all three awards: Retailer, Energy Management and Brand Owner. Sears Holdings’ and Kenmore’s accomplishments will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy at a ceremony in  Washington, D.C., on  April 20, 2018.

“We truly value Sears Holdings’ partnership with ENERGY STAR and are honored to receive the Partner of the Year Award in Sustained Excellence for the ninth consecutive year in Retail and the seventh consecutive year in Energy Management,” said  Edward S. Lampert, chairman and chief executive officer of Sears Holdings. “Being recognized by ENERGY STAR as a retail leader only further increases our members’ trust in us to continuously provide energy-efficient solutions that meet their needs. We remain committed to continuing our work to help increase energy efficiency, to offer savings to our members, and to protect the environment through our dedicated efforts.”

CWEB Analyst’s have initiated a Buy Rating for  Sears (SHLD)      

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CWEB.com – Johnson & Johnson Beats Earnings Estimates

By Leslie Cohen
Managing Editor

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Johnson & Johnson’s first-quarter earnings beat and exceeded expectations on 4-17-2018. With a lot of momentum carrying from 2017 to 2018, the results were positive.

Earnings came out at: $2.06 per share vs. $2.02 per share expected. Respectively, revenue topped to $20 billion vs. $19.46 billion that was expected.

The new US tax legislation law gives J&J more flexibility to invest on a global basis and within the US. Strong investments of 30 billion dollars over a four year period will occur in new technologies that will be manufactured in the US.

Johnson & Johnson’s role as a biotech buyer gives them a fifty percent growth rate for the company. J&J’s consumer business has lagged with the other occupants in this sector. Baby care product sales fell down to $457 million from $455 million, a 3% percent decrease year-over-year when excluding currency. J&J will relaunch its baby care later this year. The millennial age group is interested more in organic products. With competition heating up from other organic companies like “The Honest Company”, J&J will introduce a line of baby care items with organic ingredients.

Sales for Xarelto, the blood thinner medication rose approximately 13 percent on an operational basis reaching only $578 million in global sales, missing analysts’ estimates of $633.7 million. Sales worldwide fell down to 18 percent, excluding a positive currency impact, to $1.34 billion, therefore missing analysts’ expectations for sales of $1.5 billion.

Remicade drug for arthritis has been under pressure with generic versions on the market. On the bright side the Food and Drug Administration approved Erleada, a drug that treats non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso CFO is announcing his retirement from his 12 year tenure at Johnson & Johnson.

JNJ  data by  YCharts