- Lawmaker Blasts Facebook Over Political-Group Recommendations
Social Media Insider, Wendy Davis - Tuesday, January 26, 2021
"Facebook's system of recommending political groups poses grave threats to American democracy and public safety," Senator Ed Markey says in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. ...
- WhatsApp Could Be Hit With EUR50 Million GDPR Fine
Around the Net In Digital, Ray Schultz - Monday, January 25, 2021
WhatsApp is facing a possible €50 million GDPR fine for allegedly failing to inform users about how their data would be shared with Facebook. It would be one of the large ...
- Biden Names Slaughter Acting Chair Of FTC
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Thursday, January 21, 2021
Slaughter has emerged in recent years as one of the agency's toughest critics of tech companies. ...
- Facebook Refers Trump Ban To Its Oversight Board
Digital News Daily, Karlene Lukovitz - Friday, January 22, 2021
The self-appointed watchdog group that calls itself the Real Facebook Oversight Board asserts that Facebook is using its official board to avoid regulation and the predictable, published standards that shou ...
- AI Sways Judgment On Breaking News, Misinformation, Study Suggests
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Thursday, January 21, 2021
Should social media and search engines lean on AI to determine whether news informs or misinforms? Research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute suggests AI can help readers make better judgements ...
- Google Threatens To Pull Search Engine From Australia
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, January 22, 2021
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country "doesn't respond to threats" and that Google would need to adhere to its rules. ...
- Challenging Advertisers, Budgets Creep Monthly, Rather Than Yearly
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Thursday, January 21, 2021
The data shared Thursday by Analyst Aaron Kessler marks the beginning of challenges that advertisers will face this year -- not only as the U.S. tries to recover from ...
- Biden Administration Considering White House Person To Lead Antitrust Efforts
Around the Net in Search Marketing, Laurie Sullivan - Wednesday, January 20, 2021
President Joe Biden is considering creating a White House position focused on competition policy and issues relating to antitrust, reports Reuters. The idea, according to sources, is related to antitru ...
- FTC Chairman Simons To Step Down
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Tuesday, January 19, 2021
FTC Chairman Joe Simons, who has led the agency since May 2018, will exit at the end of the month. ...
- Ad Campaign Censored By Facebook Algorithm
Mediapsssst, Richard Whitman - Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Images for a fitness studio ad campaign on Facebook were rejected by the platform's algorithm. And apparently, once the algorithm rules, all humans must obey. ...
- What Skills Marketers Say They Want In 2021 -- And Why
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 18, 2021
Although 86% of marketers say they feel adequately trained and skilled, nearly all report they want a new skill to advance their careers, a study by Sidecar shows. The mo ...
- Free Speech Or Freedom Of Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 18, 2021
There has been legitimate concern about how much power to give big tech companies and what constitutes acceptable free speech. ...
- Amazon Surpasses Facebook In Website Tracker Tags
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, January 15, 2021
In 2020, companies increased the number of website pages they track consumers in, digital privacy company Ghostery found. Amazon surpassed Facebook in tracker reach at about 29.4% vs. Facebook ...
- Texas AG Demands Answers From Tech Companies That Booted Trump And Parler
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Wednesday, January 13, 2021
"For years, these Big Tech companies have silenced voices in the social media sphere and shut down competing companies and platforms," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated Wednesday afternoon. ...
- Trump's Words Led To Censorship Across Internet, Journalists, Publishers Say
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Trump's words set a new precedent for companies to censor what is written and communicated across the internet and will affect the way advertisers place ads in the future. So ...
- Analyst Downgrades Twitter After Trump Locked Out On Twitter, Facebook
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 11, 2021
Unexpected backing came from Germany and France after President Trump was banned from Twitter and Facebook. German Chancellor Angela Merkel objected to the decision to completely ban the U.S. preside ...
- How Data Models May Have Helped Prevent Chaos At Capitol Building
Data & Programmatic Insider, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 11, 2021
Advertisers use data models to determine the "perfect" message to target consumers with ads at specific moments. Why can't data models built on sentiment and interests predict violence? ...
- Facebook: Content Performance, Interactions Shift As Site Pauses Trump's Account
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 11, 2021
Media Matters analyzed data from pages about U.S. political news and found total daily interactions with conservative content dropped significantly after suspending Trump's account. ...
- Parler CEO Says He Gave 'Wrong Impression' About 'Free Speech' Site
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 11, 2021
With the threat of Amazon Web Services pulling the plug Sunday on Parler, the conservative site's CEO said his media company does not "condone or accept violence on our platfo ...
- Facebook Locks Out Trump For Rest Of Presidency
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Thursday, January 7, 2021
"We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great," Mark Zuckerberg said. ...
- How Media Buying Changed And What Performed Best In 2020
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, January 8, 2021
At least two-thirds of agencies said they believe targeted forms of advertising such as OTT, social media and addressable had the most impact in 2020, according to Borrell Associates. ...
- Pinterest A Safe Haven For Brands As They Reportedly Cut Budgets Amidst Turmoil
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Thursday, January 7, 2021
Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter will feel the recoil as brands pull ad budgets amidst negative news reports and posts on platforms. But not all social media platforms see their use ...
- Job Seekers Settle Battle With Amazon And T-Mobile Over Age-Targeted Facebook Ads
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Wednesday, January 6, 2021
A group of job seekers and the Communications Workers of America Union have settled a 2017 lawsuit alleging that Amazon and T-Mobile used Facebook's tools to illegally prevent older worke ...
- Facebook Pages Redesign Eliminates 'Like' Button To Focus On Followers
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Facebook's redesign focuses on Followers, a more direct measurement of how the page connects with people. ...
- Hootsuite Acquires Sparkcentral, Integrates Messaging Channels
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Sparkcentral brings advanced customer conversations to the Hootsuite platform, allowing marketers to automate communications with customers across social media and messaging channels. ...
- Facebook Reinstates Political Ads Pause In Georgia, As Critics Slam It For Allowing False Ads
Digital News Daily, Karlene Lukovitz - Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Facebook allowed "hundreds" of false or misleading ads during the runup to the state Senate runoffs, according to research from left-leaning global human rights group Avaaz -- one of t ...
- WhatsApp To Share Data With Facebook As A Condition Of Use
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Wednesday, January 6, 2021
As privacy has become a major focus and differentiator for companies, some efforts to protect consumers' rights may seem counterintuitive and even deceptive. ...
- Facebook's Ad Integrity Chief Leaves
Around the Net in Search Marketing, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, January 4, 2021
Rob Leathern -- former Facebook director of product management who handled sensitive subjects such as politics and coronavirus misinformation -- left the company on December 30. In a post he wrote abo ...
- Supreme Court Urged To Hear Facebook's Appeal Over Tracking
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Tuesday, December 29, 2020
A lower court's ruling that Facebook may have violated the wiretap law "threatens to criminalize computer-to-computer communications that are common and fundamental to the operation of modern webpages," the Intern ...
- Facebook Defeats Claims It Violated Users' Privacy By Collecting Location Data
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Monday, December 28, 2020
"There is no legally protected privacy interest in IP addresses," U.S. District Court Judge James Donato wrote in a decision dismissing claims against Facebook. ...
