What is GDPR? For $500, Alex…

Most companies aren’t going to hit Europe’s GDPR deadline (also what’s that)

The General Data Protection Regulation goes into effect on May 25, and according to a new study conducted by Crowd Research Partners, 60% of companies are unlikely to meet the deadline for compliance with the new European GDPR legislation.

Lost you at GDPR?

The GDPR is a regulation proposed in 2012 that will force all companies to divulge any data breach -- be it cyber attack, human error, or otherwise -- to the relevant party within 72 hours.

In other words, in the EU there will be no more “Hey guys, it’s Uber, someone hacked our systems and stole all of your data… 2 years ago.”

Failure to comply could result in fines ranging anywhere from 10m euros to billions, depending on the severity of the breach.

Looking up for consumers

As we all become increasingly desensitized to hackers stealing our personal info (as we speak, we assume), the GDPR aims to give EU citizens more control over their data — and how it’s being processed by companies.

This includes the choice to opt out of the data trade, allowing users to say, “Hey Facebook, I heard you’re sharing my data with third parties, I’d rather you not. Thanks.”

But 43% of companies fear they lack the staff to meet compliance...

And on top of that, 56% expect their data governance budget to increase significantly as they shoehorn the regulation into their daily routine.

But, the government maintains that having a “single supervisor authority” for the entire EU will actually save companies 2.3B euros across Europe.

Think European, act globally

The GDPR will apply to international companies doing business with EU members -- and it may inspire other countries to follow suit.

Facebook for instance, plans to implement the GDPR transparency and notification guidelines for every one of their users.

Basis, a 1-year-old, 10-person crypto startup, just raised $133m in funding

You know what they say, there’s always money in crypto.

Case in point: Basis, a cryptocurrency startup out of New Jersey, started by co-founder and CEO Nader Al-Naji and 2 other recent Princeton grads, announced a $133m round of funding from massive firms including Bain Capital, GV, Lightspeed, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Their goal? To chase the “holy grail” of crypto -- stability.

Creating the elusive ‘stablecoin’

The value of popular tokens like bitcoin and ethereum fluctuates wildly from day to day, but according to a Basis spokesperson, “A currency needs to be stable in order for people to really use it.”

Al-Naji tells us that, unlike bitcoin, which relies on a fixed supply of coins that are mined, the supply of basecoin is “determined algorithmically,” via open source software and regulated via a “monetary policy on the blockchain.”

The idea is to keep the value of one basecoin as close to $1 as possible, by issuing additional Basecoin when prices spike.

Will this actually work?

As critics of proposed “stablecoins” have noted, systems like Basis’ require a huge amount of initial capital to build a sustainable ecosystem of users -- but, it looks like they’ve already solved that part of the puzzle.

We still don’t know when the first Basecoin will be released -- when asked about timelines, Al-Naji said, “I wouldn’t think in terms of time, I think it’s better to think in terms of milestones…”

Sooo… probably not tomorrow.

Cheddar is a bargain for YouTube TV today -- but it will cost them in the long run

To expand its content catalog to rival Old Man Cable’s, YouTube TV added its first online-only channel, Cheddar -- a financial news outlet patronizingly dubbed “the CNBC for millennials.”

YouTube TV combines cable and digital content in one place, but while having as much content as possible may benefit them in the long term, the question is, who’s gonna pay for it, and how?

‘Content a la carte’

The future of TV is over-the-top: Entertainment is migrating from the cable box to the internet. But the transition won’t happen overnight, and streaming platforms must appeal to teenage Twitch-streamers and cable-crushing grandmas to win the war for TV.

Adding multiple entertainment formats increases YouTube TV’s market share today, but non-exclusive content like Cheddar’s -- which publishes its content elsewhere for free -- erodes the subscription’s long-term value to viewers.

This revolution WILL be televised (thanks to free distribution)

Back in the day, cable producers made half their money in ads -- and the other half in “distribution fees.” Now, digital producers make all their money from ads -- meaning YouTube TV still pays old-school cable partners, but doesn’t pay Cheddar anything.

So in the short term, YouTube gets Cheddar’s content fo’ free -- but in the long term, Cheddar gets valuable viewers (AKA live prey for trigger-happy advertisers). Cheddar’s $54m in funding -- plus a cool $18m lined up in ad revenue -- should pay the bills as viewership grows.

Meanwhile, YouTube TV jacked up its subscription from $35 to $40 -- kinda pricey compared to watching Cheddar for free on FB...

A Florida Man has been fined $120m for allegedly making 97m “robocalls”

In what has been called “the most egregious neighbor-spoofing robocalling scheme” ever, Adrian Abramovich of Miami, FL, stands accused of inundating consumers with 97m “robocalls” between 2015 and 2016 -- resulting in a proposed $120m fine.

He appeared before a US Senate committee on Wednesday to fight the hefty penalty, stating his activities were “significantly overstated” and that he is “not the kingpin of robocalling that is alleged.”

He claims to be legit

In June, the FCC alleged Abramovich’s calls offered fake vacation deals from companies like Marriott, TripAdvisor, and a few others -- a direct violation of US telecommunications laws.

But Abramovich denied engaging in “fraudulent activities” (while pleading the 5th on certain questions) -- telling the Senate he had been a telemarketer for more than 15 years and that his calls offered real vacation packages.

Regardless, we’re not sure what ground this guy has to stand on...

The FCC and FTC have made it clear that robocalling is highly illegal unless otherwise specified (who’s the sad sap looking to get robocalled?).

Yet US consumers still receive nearly 2.5B robocalls a month -- Florida, in particular, ranked #3 in the nation for the most received robocalls back in March with 244m.

Until recently, existing regulations have been hard to enforce. But in November of last year the FCC approved new rules that allow phone companies to proactively block calls likely to be fraudulent -- making it a whooole lot harder to be a telemarketer these days.

WATCH: Obama's (fake) public address, FREE

A video of Obama’s uncensored thoughts on Black Panther, Ben Carson, and Trump turns out to be a warning about of AI-generated fake news from comedian Jordan Peele.

“STAY WOKE B*TCHES” →

SHRED: On the new Boosted Mini, $749

Boosted, which makes the closest thing to Marty McFly’s hoverboard, just rolled out a new smaller model: The Boosted Mini. It’s less expensive than the previous model, but 4 mph slower. Bummer, dude.

SK8 OR DIE →

SPLIT: Your Grubhub order with a new Venmo feature, FREE

For anyone out there who is fed up with the process of ordering food in one app and getting paid back in another, you’re going to need to find a new #firstworldproblem. Grubhub is making modern life slightly easier.

3.2 SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE BACK →

ELEVATE: Your style with a one-of-a-kind watch from Original Grain, Starting at $169

Stand-out watches aren’t made, they’re grown. Original Grain fuses the beauty and heritage of natural wood finishes with the elegance of gold, steel, and leather. Each watch is a unique work of art, that does more than look good -- it tells a story.

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How do you answer “what if?”

We all play the game of “what if,” but many of us don’t prepare for the big one.

If you have dependents on your tax form, planning for every scenario is just common sense. Yep, you guessed it. This is the life insurance talk.

Nowadays, life insurance isn’t something you speak about in hushed tones. It can (actually) be kinda cool -- unbelievable, we know.

Peace of mind, reinvented

The founding team behind Haven Life started with one goal: Don’t act like a typical life insurance agency. And if you visit their site, you’d agree.

Haven Life is a life insurance agency for the 21st century. Transparent pricing, an instant quote calculator, prompt customer service, and the digital experience you’d expect from an online solution in 2018.

Honestly, it’s delightful. Dependable (they offer coverage issued by MassMutual). And, yes, it’s affordable.

A healthy 30-year-old guy can purchase a 20-year, $500,000 term life insurance policy for around $20 a month. That’s probably less than you spend on coffee -- and way more important.

Quit obsessing over “what ifs.” Get your estimate from Haven Life, and get on with your life.