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Starbucks pauses all social media ads over hate speech concerns
Starbucks has joined the ranks of big companies putting social media ads on hold in response to sites' hate speech policies.
Facebook's advertiser boycott is getting even bigger
More big names have signed on to protest the company's policies.
100 million people watch YouTube on TVs each month
YouTube's big-screen audience is growing fast.
Spotify is testing in-app ads on podcast episode pages
Basically, you’ll see the ad details on the episode page for that podcast inside the Spotify app.
The North Face pulls Facebook ads over hate and misinformation policies
Major advertisers like The North Face are pulling ads from Facebook, if temporarily, to oppose the social network's approaches to hate and misinformation.
Facebook pulls Trump campaign ads for violating hate speech policy
Facebook has taken down Trump campaign ads for allegedly violating policies on hate through a symbol.
Instagram brings commercials to IGTV to lure influencers
Instagram's IGTV is getting commercials and the company plans to share revenue.
Three weeks in, Quibi has its first privacy scandal
An internet security research revealed that several popular companies have leaked personal email addresses to advertisers and trackers.
Facebook still plans to put ads in WhatsApp
Facebook hasn’t abandoned its plans to put ads in WhatsApp.
Facebook stops advertisers from targeting users into 'pseudoscience'
Facebook has halted ad targeting based on users' interest in "pseudoscience."
Google will force advertisers to prove they are who they say they are
Starting this summer, you'll be able to check an advertiser's legal name and country of operation.
Google is waiving ad serving fees for news publications
Acknowledging the situation, Google has announced additional assistance for media outlets. For five months, Google will waive serving fees for publications that use Ad Manager. Specifically, Google says it will help publications that produce "original" journalism.
Here's what Twitter's weird 'data-sharing' notification really means
Twitter is removing a setting that let users to opt out of sharing data with advertisers, saying the change is necessary to keep Twitter a "free service."
US officials use mobile ad location data to study how COVID-19 spreads
The use of phone location tracking to keep tabs on COVID-19 is becoming increasingly common, and the US appears to be no exception. Wall Street Journal sources say federal (via the CDC), state and local governments have been receiving location data from mobile ads to help plan their pandemic response. The anonymized info helps officials understand where people are still gathering in significant numbers (and thus risk spreading the coronavirus), how well they're honoring stay-at-home demands and how the virus has impacted retail.
Google's $800 million COVID-19 relief effort includes 2 million face masks
Google's support for the fight against COVID-19 includes more than advisories and a search hub. The internet firm is making a $800 million-plus investment in multiple areas to aid treatment, support businesses and keep the public informed. This includes direct financial backing and know-ow, including partnering with supplier Magid GlovE & Safety to produce 2-3 million face masks for the CDC Foundation in the "coming weeks." It'll also assist the government, manufacturers and distributors in producing ventilators.
Mozilla combines tracker blocking with paid, ad-free browsing
Last year, Mozilla partnered with Scroll -- a subscription service that enables ad-free browsing of its partner publications -- to analyze if a select group of users preferred paying a small fee rather than being served ads, and if the strategy was cost-effective for the publications. After seeing promising results, the two companies have announced the Firefox Better Web with Scroll beta program. The name is a mouthful, but essentially, it combines Firefox's tracker-blocking technology with Scroll's ad-free experiences on any browser. Users can opt in and pay an introductory price of $2.49 for the service, which enables them to read publications like The Atlantic, The Onion and USA Today, add-free. The publications, meanwhile, receive a share of the revenue that Scroll makes from the subscription costs.
Why do memes suddenly matter in politics?
Michael Bloomberg's failed bid to become Democratic Party nominee will go down in infamy. Not only because he bankrolled the whole thing with his own vast fortune, but also where he spent it. Bloomberg's team enlisted figures from Jerry Media, the agency connected to Fyre Festival, where he spent $1 million a day on social campaigns. He even offered minor-ish Instagram stars $150 a pop to support his campaign on the platform. But why? We asked several people connected with politics, memes, and political memes the obvious question.
Facebook labels manipulated video of Biden 'endorsing' Trump as 'partly false'
Twitter isn't the only one flagging a manipulated Trump video to warn users. Facebook has labeled a video of presidential hopeful Joe Biden appearing to endorse Trump as "partly false information," citing independent fact-checking from Lead Stories. The company told Engadget in a statement that it was both "reducing [the video's] distribution" and applying warning labels, and that it was applying the treatment to a politician just as it would for a bogus video shared by anyone else.
Judge dismisses Tulsi Gabbard’s $50 million ad lawsuit against Google
A California judge has struck down longshot Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard's lawsuit against Google. Last fall, Gabbard sued the company for allegedly infringing on her right to free speech by temporarily suspending her campaign's ad account. The Gabbard campaign, Tulsi Now, Inc., sought $50 million in damages.
Etsy's new ad policy could force more fees on merchants
Etsy is once again in hot water for its latest attempt to boost sales. This week, the company introduced a new "risk-free" offsite advertising service in which it plans to enroll some of its sellers automatically. Under the new system, Esty says it will use its "budget" and "expertise" to help merchants advertise their products on websites like Google, Instagram and Pinterest. If one of those ads leads to a sale within 30 days, the company will charge the seller an advertising fee.