It’s Data Privacy Day! Since we are the Lady Whistledown of all things B2B (except for the faux Edwardian-era anonymous troll element), this would not seem a natural fit for our romp through appointments, acquisitions, mergers and launches. Alas! As we have not been to a good launch party since February 2020, we can at least attempt to give the occasion the Bridgerton treatment.
As all occasions simply must begin with an official welcome, we point our readers toward the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The holder of that good office, whom we shall not name in the interests of privacy, points us toward Stay Safe Online by the National CyberSecurity Alliance. There they do issue the generous invitation to become a champion of data privacy online.
The genetic testing site 23andMe, the very one that has revealed the parentage of adoptees — whilst revealing the previously private mysteries surrounding impossible eye colour and blood types — is rumoured to be going public with the help of VG Acquisition Corp, the SPAC created by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. While all filings absolutely must be public, we do admire the hoops the company demands we jump through to keep checking for news of the IPO on their site.
Investor relations info: https://vgacquisition.com/investor-relations/
For its part, 23andMe is revealing nothing. The company does remind Canadians that they have no protection from “genetic discrimination” as insurance companies can demand our data at any time to permit or deny coverage.
23andMe Media Centre: https://mediacenter.23andme.com/company/about-us/
While we find ourselves amused by the mischievous youngsters who have been playing with re-distribution of wealth via Reddit and GameStop, we were interested to learn that Wealthsimple, the commission-free trading application, has launched its B2B service Wealthsimple for Work. While they may not have kept the launch private, it was certainly rather quiet.
We do wonder what the subgroups will do with the share trade business next and will be certain to have our commission-free account at the ready to respond. We certainly do appreciate the transparency of youthful enthusiasm.
Keeping quiet is not an ethical choice some credit rating analysts are making. A new study from the University of Texas at Dallas and the Wharton School has found that some professionals are just leaky faucets when it supports their careers.
“Our evidence suggests that some rating analysts share confidential information about upcoming rating changes with institutional investors, for whom they later go to work,” said co-author Omri Even-Tov of the Wharton School. “This is not only problematic for investors whose trades may be front-run by those with advance knowledge of rating changes, but also for credit issuers who share private information with the credit agencies, since it may not stay private for long.”
Press Release: https://www.newswise.com/articles/study-finds-that-some-credit-analysts-leak-information-to-wall-street-to-advance-their-careers
The revelation certainly makes the youngsters on Reddit who are buying up GameStop stock seem positively eligible in comparison. It will be interesting to see how the social media channel observes Data Privacy Day. We will certainly check our app permissions, notifications and check in functionality to ensure we get all the news.
