Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest on the bills recently signed by Governor Newsom that crack down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children's vaccinations. We also examine the legal implications for college athletes if they're allowed to profit from their likeness; and more.
National Security Adviser John Bolton Fired
President Donald Trump has fired national security adviser John Bolton.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he told Bolton Monday night that his services were no longer needed at the White House. He says Bolton submitted his resignation on Tuesday morning.
Trump tweeted that he "disagreed strongly" with many of Bolton's suggestions, "as did others in the administration."
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Daniel Lippman, White House reporter for POLITICO; he tweets
New Program Will Pay Stipend For Host To Temporarily House Young People Experiencing Homelessness
A new program in L.A. is connecting “hosts” with young people experiencing homelessness for short-term stays, with the goal of bridging the gap between homelessness and permanent housing.
Safe Place for Youth’s Host Home Program, funded this year by LAHSA, is offering monthly stipends to those who offer a room in their home to a young person without a home, between the ages of 18 and 24.
In her recent piece in the L.A. Times, Annabelle Gurwitch described her experience hosting a young couple in June -- her concerns, the relationship she developed with the young couple and her ultimate takeaways.
We sit down with Gurwitch as well as the executive director of Safe Place for Youth to discuss the program.
Guests:
Alison Hurst, founder and executive director of Safe Place for Youth, a non-profit working with young people who are experiencing homeless or are at risk of homelessness; Host Home Program is one of its housing programs, which launched in 2019
Annabelle Gurwitch, actor and New York Times bestselling author; she was a host through Safe Place for Youth’s Host Home Program; she wrote about her experience in the piece “They were homeless. I took them in. Would you?” for the LA Times
Period Tracking Apps Are Apparently Sharing Extremely Personal Data With Facebook, Other Companies
A new report from UK-based advocacy organization Privacy International finds that menstruation apps are passing along women’s data to Facebook and others, including their contraception use, period symptoms and when they last had sex.
According to a report from Buzzfeed, data sharing with Facebook occurs through a Software Development Kit. The SDK helps apps collect data the social networking site can use in different ways, including targeted ads. In a previous report looking at some of the most popular apps in the world, Privacy International found that the majority of apps they tested immediately sent off data when users open the app, whether or not they were logged in to Facebook or even have an account. Some of these big-name apps changed their policies after PI released its report.
The Wall Street Journal earlier this year also detailed how the period tracking app known as Flo shared data with Facebook, then said it would stop. But some other apps that track users’ periods, symptoms and more are continuing to pass off sensitive information. The findings come after a wave of revelations that apps are indeed collecting and sharing data that users may not know about. It’s expanded the conversation around privacy rights and policies within the realm of technology. Are policies clear enough? Should users be solely responsible for reading and understanding said policies? Should more data be protected, particularly medical data? These are some of the questions that have surfaced. We discuss the issue on AirTalk.
We reached out to Facebook. They declined our request for an interview, but sent us this statement, attributed to Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne:
“Contrary to BuzzFeed’s reporting, our terms of service prohibit developers from sending us sensitive health information and we enforce against them when we learn they are. In addition, ad targeting based on people’s interests does not leverage information gleaned from people’s activity across other apps or websites.”
We also reached out to the app Maya. They were not able to join us for the interview, but sent us this statement:
“Maya does not sell data to Facebook or ANY third party. We have in the past used tools from Facebook, strictly to improve our product experience. We have proactively removed these tools from all versions of the app due to concerns about privacy.
All data accessed by Maya are essential for the proper functioning of the product. Predicting information pertaining to menstrual cycles is complex and dependent on thousands of variables. Our users are made aware of our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy prior to signing up on Maya. Post sign up, our users can export their data and delete their account whenever they choose to.
Maya is on a mission to build products that make a positive impact in the lives of women. We take pride in the trust that our users put in us and follow best practices on data privacy.”
Guests:
Eva Blum-Dumontet, research officer with UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, she’s the lead researcher involved in a report that looks at data sharing from menstruation taking apps
Stacey Gray, senior counsel with the Future of Privacy Forum, a non-profit think tank based in D.C. that focuses on emerging tech and privacy
Fred Cate, professor of law at Indiana University and senior fellow at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research
What’s In The New Vaccine Exemption Bill That’s Been Signed By Governor Newsom?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Monday to crack down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children's vaccinations.
The Democratic governor quietly acted less than an hour after lawmakers sent him changes he demanded as a condition of approving the bills, even as protesters outside his office chanted for him to veto the measures.
Lawmakers sent Newsom the initial bill last week aimed at doctors who sell fraudulent medical exemptions. Democratic Sen. Richard Pan of San Francisco agreed to also carry follow-up legislation that, among other things, would give school children grace periods that could last several years on existing medical exemptions.
Newsom demanded a phase-out period for medical exemptions similar to one allowed when California eliminated personal belief vaccine exemptions in 2015. A kindergartener with an exemption could retain it through sixth grade, for instance, while a seventh grader could be exempted through high school.
The companion bill also would allow officials to revoke any medical exemptions written by a doctor who has faced disciplinary action.
The bill would make it clear that enforcement will start next year, meaning doctors who previously granted a high number of medical exemptions won't face scrutiny.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Michelle Faust Raghavan, health care reporter at KPCC with a focus on health policy; she tweets
Practical Implications For Colleges And Student Athletes If CA Enacts Law Allowing College Athletes To Profit From Likeness
The California Assembly has passed legislation to let college athletes make money, setting up a confrontation with the NCAA that could jeopardize the athletic futures of programs at USC, UCLA and Stanford.
The bill would let college athletes hire agents and be paid for the use of their name, image or likeness. And it would stop universities and the NCAA from banning athletes who take the money. The Assembly passed the bill 66-0 on Monday, a few days after the bill got an endorsement from NBA superstar Lebron James, who did not go to college. Universities oppose the bill, and the NCAA has warned the bill could mean California universities would be ineligible for national championships.
The California Senate must take a final vote on the bill by Friday, but ahead of that, we take a look at what the law might mean for student athletes and universities in California if Governor Newsom were to sign it.
With files from the Associated Press.
AirTalk invited the NCAA to participate in our discussion, but as of the airing of this segment we did not received a response to our request. Following the airing of our segment, we received the following statement from the NCAA:
The NCAA Board of Governors has monitored SB 206 as it has moved through the California legislative process. As we evaluate our next steps, we remain focused on providing opportunities and a level playing field for the nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide.
We also invited Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott to participate, but the Pac-12 declined our interview request and sent us this statement:
The NCAA has formed a working group that is looking into the matter of student-athlete name, image and likeness, and this group is expected to complete its work this fall. So our view is that the most prudent course is for the California legislature to hold further action on its Fair Pay to Play Act pending the outcome of the NCAA’s work, which we believe will be very informative to this discussion. We all want to protect and support our student-athletes, and the Pac-12 has played a leadership role in national reforms for student-athletes over the past years. The question is what’s the best way to continue to support our student-athletes. We think having more information and informed views will be helpful.
Guests:
Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, a nonprofit organization launched by UCLA football players that advocates for college athletes nationwide; he is also a former UCLA football player
Andy Fee, director of athletics at California State University, Long Beach, which competes in NCAA Division I athletics as part of the Big West Conference; he tweets
Discontinuing Antidepressant Medication: What You Need To Know
In a recent Los Angeles Times column, business writer David Lazarus chronicled his struggle with quitting antidepressants. Lazarus says he started taking the medication to deal with insomnia as a side effect of Type 1 diabetes. He felt great—at first.
But after reading a New York Times article on depression medication dependence, Lazarus started worrying about his own usage and tried to stop taking medication. Now he’s off the prescription all-together, and says he still feels sluggish, moody and short tempered.
Have you ever tried tapering off antidepressants? What was your experience? Today on Airtalk we talk with a psychiatrist to understand the risks of antidepressant use and the best method for quitting.
If you are in need of support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255, for free and confidential help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Guest:
Steven Siegel, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at USC Keck School of Medicine
National Security Adviser John Bolton Fired
President Donald Trump has fired national security adviser John Bolton.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he told Bolton Monday night that his services were no longer needed at the White House. He says Bolton submitted his resignation on Tuesday morning.
Trump tweeted that he "disagreed strongly" with many of Bolton's suggestions, "as did others in the administration."
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Daniel Lippman, White House reporter for POLITICO; he tweets
New Program Will Pay Stipend For Host To Temporarily House Young People Experiencing Homelessness
A new program in L.A. is connecting “hosts” with young people experiencing homelessness for short-term stays, with the goal of bridging the gap between homelessness and permanent housing.
Safe Place for Youth’s Host Home Program, funded this year by LAHSA, is offering monthly stipends to those who offer a room in their home to a young person without a home, between the ages of 18 and 24.
In her recent piece in the L.A. Times, Annabelle Gurwitch described her experience hosting a young couple in June -- her concerns, the relationship she developed with the young couple and her ultimate takeaways.
We sit down with Gurwitch as well as the executive director of Safe Place for Youth to discuss the program.
Guests:
Alison Hurst, founder and executive director of Safe Place for Youth, a non-profit working with young people who are experiencing homeless or are at risk of homelessness; Host Home Program is one of its housing programs, which launched in 2019
Annabelle Gurwitch, actor and New York Times bestselling author; she was a host through Safe Place for Youth’s Host Home Program; she wrote about her experience in the piece “They were homeless. I took them in. Would you?” for the LA Times
Period Tracking Apps Are Apparently Sharing Extremely Personal Data With Facebook, Other Companies
A new report from UK-based advocacy organization Privacy International finds that menstruation apps are passing along women’s data to Facebook and others, including their contraception use, period symptoms and when they last had sex.
According to a report from Buzzfeed, data sharing with Facebook occurs through a Software Development Kit. The SDK helps apps collect data the social networking site can use in different ways, including targeted ads. In a previous report looking at some of the most popular apps in the world, Privacy International found that the majority of apps they tested immediately sent off data when users open the app, whether or not they were logged in to Facebook or even have an account. Some of these big-name apps changed their policies after PI released its report.
The Wall Street Journal earlier this year also detailed how the period tracking app known as Flo shared data with Facebook, then said it would stop. But some other apps that track users’ periods, symptoms and more are continuing to pass off sensitive information. The findings come after a wave of revelations that apps are indeed collecting and sharing data that users may not know about. It’s expanded the conversation around privacy rights and policies within the realm of technology. Are policies clear enough? Should users be solely responsible for reading and understanding said policies? Should more data be protected, particularly medical data? These are some of the questions that have surfaced. We discuss the issue on AirTalk.
We reached out to Facebook. They declined our request for an interview, but sent us this statement, attributed to Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne:
“Contrary to BuzzFeed’s reporting, our terms of service prohibit developers from sending us sensitive health information and we enforce against them when we learn they are. In addition, ad targeting based on people’s interests does not leverage information gleaned from people’s activity across other apps or websites.”
We also reached out to the app Maya. They were not able to join us for the interview, but sent us this statement:
“Maya does not sell data to Facebook or ANY third party. We have in the past used tools from Facebook, strictly to improve our product experience. We have proactively removed these tools from all versions of the app due to concerns about privacy.
All data accessed by Maya are essential for the proper functioning of the product. Predicting information pertaining to menstrual cycles is complex and dependent on thousands of variables. Our users are made aware of our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy prior to signing up on Maya. Post sign up, our users can export their data and delete their account whenever they choose to.
Maya is on a mission to build products that make a positive impact in the lives of women. We take pride in the trust that our users put in us and follow best practices on data privacy.”
Guests:
Eva Blum-Dumontet, research officer with UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, she’s the lead researcher involved in a report that looks at data sharing from menstruation taking apps
Stacey Gray, senior counsel with the Future of Privacy Forum, a non-profit think tank based in D.C. that focuses on emerging tech and privacy
Fred Cate, professor of law at Indiana University and senior fellow at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research
What’s In The New Vaccine Exemption Bill That’s Been Signed By Governor Newsom?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Monday to crack down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children's vaccinations.
The Democratic governor quietly acted less than an hour after lawmakers sent him changes he demanded as a condition of approving the bills, even as protesters outside his office chanted for him to veto the measures.
Lawmakers sent Newsom the initial bill last week aimed at doctors who sell fraudulent medical exemptions. Democratic Sen. Richard Pan of San Francisco agreed to also carry follow-up legislation that, among other things, would give school children grace periods that could last several years on existing medical exemptions.
Newsom demanded a phase-out period for medical exemptions similar to one allowed when California eliminated personal belief vaccine exemptions in 2015. A kindergartener with an exemption could retain it through sixth grade, for instance, while a seventh grader could be exempted through high school.
The companion bill also would allow officials to revoke any medical exemptions written by a doctor who has faced disciplinary action.
The bill would make it clear that enforcement will start next year, meaning doctors who previously granted a high number of medical exemptions won't face scrutiny.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Michelle Faust Raghavan, health care reporter at KPCC with a focus on health policy; she tweets
Practical Implications For Colleges And Student Athletes If CA Enacts Law Allowing College Athletes To Profit From Likeness
The California Assembly has passed legislation to let college athletes make money, setting up a confrontation with the NCAA that could jeopardize the athletic futures of programs at USC, UCLA and Stanford.
The bill would let college athletes hire agents and be paid for the use of their name, image or likeness. And it would stop universities and the NCAA from banning athletes who take the money. The Assembly passed the bill 66-0 on Monday, a few days after the bill got an endorsement from NBA superstar Lebron James, who did not go to college. Universities oppose the bill, and the NCAA has warned the bill could mean California universities would be ineligible for national championships.
The California Senate must take a final vote on the bill by Friday, but ahead of that, we take a look at what the law might mean for student athletes and universities in California if Governor Newsom were to sign it.
With files from the Associated Press.
AirTalk invited the NCAA to participate in our discussion, but as of the airing of this segment we did not received a response to our request. Following the airing of our segment, we received the following statement from the NCAA:
The NCAA Board of Governors has monitored SB 206 as it has moved through the California legislative process. As we evaluate our next steps, we remain focused on providing opportunities and a level playing field for the nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide.
We also invited Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott to participate, but the Pac-12 declined our interview request and sent us this statement:
The NCAA has formed a working group that is looking into the matter of student-athlete name, image and likeness, and this group is expected to complete its work this fall. So our view is that the most prudent course is for the California legislature to hold further action on its Fair Pay to Play Act pending the outcome of the NCAA’s work, which we believe will be very informative to this discussion. We all want to protect and support our student-athletes, and the Pac-12 has played a leadership role in national reforms for student-athletes over the past years. The question is what’s the best way to continue to support our student-athletes. We think having more information and informed views will be helpful.
Guests:
Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, a nonprofit organization launched by UCLA football players that advocates for college athletes nationwide; he is also a former UCLA football player
Andy Fee, director of athletics at California State University, Long Beach, which competes in NCAA Division I athletics as part of the Big West Conference; he tweets
Discontinuing Antidepressant Medication: What You Need To Know
In a recent Los Angeles Times column, business writer David Lazarus chronicled his struggle with quitting antidepressants. Lazarus says he started taking the medication to deal with insomnia as a side effect of Type 1 diabetes. He felt great—at first.
But after reading a New York Times article on depression medication dependence, Lazarus started worrying about his own usage and tried to stop taking medication. Now he’s off the prescription all-together, and says he still feels sluggish, moody and short tempered.
Have you ever tried tapering off antidepressants? What was your experience? Today on Airtalk we talk with a psychiatrist to understand the risks of antidepressant use and the best method for quitting.
If you are in need of support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255, for free and confidential help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Guest:
Steven Siegel, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at USC Keck School of Medicine