Why ad approval is not legal protection
Section 230 shields ad platforms from liability, while FTC enforcement holds advertisers strictly responsible for deceptive ad claims.
Topic: Digital Services Act
ChatGPT search has 41 million average monthly users in EU
While ChatGPT Search grew from 11.2 million to 41.3 million "recipients," it is still dwarfed by Google Search.
Amazon’s ad practices and algorithms facing scrutiny in EU
The EU wants more information on recommender systems and ad transparency, signaling potential shifts in ecommerce advertising landscape.
LinkedIn drops user targeting based on Groups data
LinkedIn has stopped allowing advertisers to target users in Europe based on Groups data to comply with the EU's Digital Services Act.
Amazon ordered to publicly share details of ads it serves in the EU
The retail giant is being forced to publish an ads library after losing a legal challenge in the Court of Justice of the EU.
Meta to charge $14 a month for ad-free Instagram and Facebook subscriptions
The paid-for versions of the apps are reportedly being rolled out in Europe in response to the EU's Digital Services Act.
Google Ads for lead generation: A 6-step framework for success
Learn how to optimize for high-quality leads in Google Ads and achieve sustainable growth in your marketing efforts.
Meta may remove ads on Facebook and Instagram for subscribers in Europe
The company is exploring ad-free versions of its apps in response to the EU's impending Digital Services Act.
Meta rolls out new search tool to track branded content campaigns
You can now search branded content in the Meta Ads Library to get deeper insights into your competitor's campaign strategies.
Google will provide more targeted ad data to comply with new EU rules
The search engine is taking steps to ensure it complies with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) or else it may risk a significant financial penalty.
TikTok rolls out major Ads changes to meet EU regulations
Targeted advertising capabilities are being significantly reduced, while ads that violate its policies will be removed globally.
Google might have to subsidize journalism, but not like this…; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Microsoft is replacing CPC with eCPC by the end of April.
Trump doesn’t like Google news-search results, vows to ‘address’ the situation
He echoes long-standing complaint by conservatives that technology companies are biased against them.
Google’s Eric Schmidt: “Really, Our Biggest Search Competitor Is Amazon”
The attitudes of European policy makers toward Google seem to have hardened of late. On various regulatory fronts, Google faces vocal critics and well-organized opposition. Google’s Eric Schmidt gave a speech earlier today in Berlin seeking to change some of those hardened hearts and minds. Schmidt argued that Google is not only not a monopoly […]
Lawmakers Question Whether Google Adequately Reviews Ads Potentially Related To Human Trafficking
Lawmakers Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are concerned that Google is profiting from advertisements placed by sex traffickers, expressing these fears in a joint letter to CEO Larry Page. The missive seeks reassurances of the company’s commitment to ferreting out ads that contribute to the activity. “Whatever Google is doing or not doing […]
Google Street View Runs Into Indian Roadblock
Google has bumped into problems with Street View in yet another country. This time it’s India. According to website MediaNama, three weeks after it began driving the local police commissioner in Bangalore notified Google that it must stop photographing the city until a number of issues can be resolved. Google told the publication it had […]
If Google Was New York City & Online Piracy Was Knock-Off Handbags…
Imagine my shock when I used Bing to search for “Where to buy knockoff products in New York” and found a treasure trove of information on the web leading me to an apparently little-known area of New York City where such products are available around Canal Street: Imagine my further shock to discover that major […]
Twenty Year FTC “Privacy Audit” Intended To Punish, Make Example Of Google
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 […]
Report: Verizon And Google In “Neutrality” Agreement Over Preferred Content Access
We’ll have to wait and see what emerges from the reported discussions between Verizon and Google. However prospect of a patchwork of agreements between large internet companies and ISPs like Verizon over web traffic is highly undesirable. (See update below.) The private Google-Verizon talks are an apparent response to the slow pace of progress on […]
French Anti-Trust Authorities Find Google “Abused Dominant Position” In Turning Off Advertiser’s Account
French regulators said today that “Google had abused its dominant position in the internet advertising market when it barred a location data company from using its AdWords service,” according to a report appearing in the Financial Times. The complainant is Navx, a company that provides “geolocalized content” of various sorts. The company complained to French […]
Germans Threaten Sanctions Over Google Street View
This is now a familiar story: European privacy concerns and complaints against Google Street View. From angry mobs to European regulators, Google is confronting many more objections as it tries to visually map The Continent than it did in the US. This installment involves German “data protection regulators” in Hamburg who object to the way […]
Italian Prosecutors To Sue Google Execs Over YouTube Video
Italy Is to File Charges Against Google Executives from the Wall Street Journal reports that Italian prosecutors have completed their two-year investigation and are ready to file charges against four Google executives. The suit is over YouTube hosting a video of a disabled teen being taunted by others. The prosecutors are suing for defamation and […]
Microsoft Proposes Comprehensive Framework To Protect Consumer Privacy
Microsoft has added its input to that of a host of other stakeholders in the growing debate over consumer privacy, online ad targeting, and potential US (and local) government regulation. (Here’s a related WSJ story on search engine efforts to block a proposed anti-tracking law in the New York state legislature.) In a filing today […]