Some form of digital privacy regulation in the US is about 90 percent certain in the coming year. In Europe, where privacy rules are much more stringent, the details of new consumer protections are currently being worked out on a practical level. For example on Wednesday the EU data protection authority decided that location data […]
Vitaly Borker, the New York business owner who became notorious last year when he claimed that outrageous behavior toward customers was helping his website rank higher in Google, faces up to six-and-a-half years in jail after pleading guilty Thursday to several counts against him. According to the New York Times, Borker — owner of DecorMyEyes.com […]
Apple and Google are helping intensify an already intense digital privacy debate with last week’s revelations that both companies’ mobile software track your movements in detail without your affirmative consent. This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that the iPhone stores user location data even when location-services are entirely turned off: Apple Inc.’s iPhone is […]
As you read earlier the US Federal Trade Commission concluded its investigation of Google over the company’s supposedly “deceptive privacy practices in Google’s rollout of its Buzz social network.” My view after talking to people at Google following the Buzz launch is that Google was not intentionally seeking to deceive users. Rather it was overzealous […]
Google has agreed to have independent privacy audits over the next 20 years, to settle an FTC investigation into wrong doing over its Google Buzz product. The FTC has release a statement where Google agreed to allow independent audits of how Google handles privacy controls. After Google Buzz launched there was a lot of concern […]
Attention AdWords resellers falsely trumpeting your “special” relationship with Google and the discounted pricing you can offer as a result: Google is coming after you. The company today rolled out new policies for third parties, such as agencies, who offer their clients AdWords as part of their services. Under the terms, agencies must provide their […]
Just over a week ago, the New York Times introduced the world to Vitaly Borker, who boasted of being abusive to customers and claimed, inaccurately, that such behavior had a side benefit of producing good rankings in Google. Now another side benefit: Borker’s arrest. Arrest On Federal Charges From an CNBC article on the arrest: […]
Much of the attention and online discussion around the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) just-released privacy report focuses on the concept of a “Do Not Track” mechanism, similar to the “Do Not Call” list now in place. The recommendation is that any such capability operate at the browser level and communicate to publishers and their […]
The New York Times has a great, detailed story out today about a merchant with an unusual marketing strategy: be mean to customers. Any publicity, even negative publicity, means a win with Google’s ranking algorithms. Is he right? Maybe. Certainly the story illustrates the fallacy of Google’s “gold standard” search results. Rank Well With Bad […]
Search advertising has resembled the wild west for too long. Advertisers have been misled, mistreated and overcharged; the standards of service must improve lest all firms—good, bad and indifferent—be tarred with the same brush. Herewith, a modest proposal for a bill of rights for advertisers.
On Monday when Apple released its iOS 4 software update it changed its terms and privacy policy. One of the provisions of the new privacy terms — though few typically read them — concerns location monitoring and sharing in the background. Here’s what it now says about location: To provide location-based services on Apple products, […]
Google has a new program that allows local businesses to get paid listings that appear within what’s known as the 7-pack of local listings. But do those listings violate the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines about proper disclosure of paid search ads? Probably not, but they do seem confusing. The New York Times had a good […]
Get ready marketers: a credible new report with sweeping implications from the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley is likely to be the nail in the coffin of self regulation of online advertising. Specifically I’m talking about behavioral targeting, which largely concerns online display advertising but does marginally touch search at Yahoo and Google. The […]
It’s time for an online advertisers bill of rights. So says Harvard assistant professor Ben Edelman, who has spent years researching Internet advertising and compares the current landscape to a “wild west.” Edelman recognizes the “staggering” opportunity that online advertising provides, but says the current system has problems that “threaten to destabilize online advertising—wasting advertisers’ […]
A group of search engine optimizers have their sights set on Google Cash. No, they’re not trying to make money off that keyword or the product it represents; they’re trying to influence the natural search results to tell the public that it’s a scam. Google Cash — also known as Google Treasure Chest and Google […]
And so real-time search begets real-time spam. We knew this would happen, but it’s annoying and becoming a growing problem. Question is, will Twitter do anything about it, beginning with removing its “Trends” feature?I got an up close & personal look at how bad Twitter “trend spam” has become when this week, our SMX Advanced […]
Google, which recently liberalized the use of trademark terms as a trigger for showing ads, has again opened up its ad policies to allow trademark terms to be used within ad copy, in certain circumstances, within the United States. Currently, registered trademark holders can request that Google prevent their trademarks from being used in ad […]
Last week the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the Rescuecom v. Google case that has some potentially serious implications for all concerned. The appellate court has jurisdiction over cases arising in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont but the case has national impact because of the way that AdWords is operated and […]
A week ago, I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that Google is now requiring advertisers of ringtones to disclose the price of those ringtones in the actual ad copy. Supposedly, this will become a new policy required of advertisers in the upcoming weeks. We do not yet have confirmation on Google about this new […]
The Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the same groups that initiated the FTC’s investigation into “behavioral advertising” online, have “amended their complaint” with the FTC to extend to mobile advertising. According to the 50+ page document filed yesterday: Right before the commission’s eyes, many of the same consumer data collection, […]
Google the superbrand and top global brand is also listed on the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) list of businesses as having an “unsatisfactory record.” The reason Google has this unsatisfactory rating from the BBB is because Google has failed “to respond to one or more complaints and or two or more otherwise unresolved.” The BBB […]
Privacy is dead, get used to it. In the effort to rescue display advertising from its historically dismal performance and so-called “banner blindness,” behavioral targeting (BT) was born a few years ago with Tacoda. It has both increased in popularity and infamy since that time. Consumers prefer more “relevant” ads but they also dislike being […]
Photo adapted from one by Hans Engel Some felt Ask.com won the privacy oneupmanship that went on last year when it rolled out Ask Eraser, a tool promising to stop recording any information about someone doing a search. But questions quickly came up, including whether the tool helped at all, considering that query data was […]
Australian court sets June date for Google case from Reuters updates us on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) suit against Google. The Australian watchdog sued Google over deceptive search ads back in July of this year. They then went to court to have their case adjourned to October 4. Now we learn that […]
Google’s ‘top spot for sale’ from News.com reports the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has had their day in court against Google. Australian Watchdog Sues Google Over Deceptive Search Ads from us in July covers more about how the the ACCC started its action against Google over ads. The case has now been adjourned […]
Last week we reported that the Google video store was closing as of August 15 — and causing people who had purchased videos to lose access to them. Google’s initial make-good offer didn’t cut it with consumers, and now the company is offering full refunds. When the news came out, Google gave a $5 Google […]
Watchdog takes Google to court from News.com reports that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Google to court for allegedly displaying misleading and deceptive sponsored results.
Consumer group hits at Google $3bn move from the Financial Times reports a large European consumers rights group, Beuc, has joined with others that oppose Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick.