WebProNews

Category: MarketingNews

The original MarketingNewz website and email newsletter first launched in 2007.

  • GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM has revised its outlook on the US ad industry, expecting it to grow 15% in 2021, thanks in large part to stimulus spending.

    2020 was a difficult year for advertisers, as the global pandemic impacted all sectors of the economy. GroupM had previously predicted a 12% growth in the industry in 2021.

    The company is now predicting a 15% increase, thanks to increased spending as a result of the latest stimulus package. Even more significantly, this represents a 6% increase over 2019 levels, indicating the industry will fully rebound from the pandemic in 2021.

    Our upgrade of expectations is primarily a reflection of the healthier-than-expected recovery of the economy from the depths of the pandemic paired with the significant impact of fiscal stimulus the federal government is providing to consumers. Digital advertising is the primary beneficiary of trends impacting the economy, both because new small businesses are forming at a record pace (even if collectively they may be losing share of activity within the economy) and because large businesses are increasingly focused on e-commerce, with spending shifts to digital media generally aligning with this trend.

    GroupM originally factored the vaccine rollout into its projections, but the Georgia Senate races made the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 a reality, adding to the recovery.

    GroupM’s report is welcome news for the advertising industry, and the economy at large.

  • Twitter Testing In-Line YouTube Viewing

    Twitter Testing In-Line YouTube Viewing

    Twitter is testing a new feature that will let users watch YouTube videos in-line, without leaving the Twitter conversation.

    Traditionally, clicking on a YouTube link in Twitter took a user to the YouTube video, leaving the Twitter thread behind. With Twitter’s new feature, users will be able to watch the video without leaving the thread.

    The feature obviously has value to Twitter, as it keeps users from leaving, but it’s also a nice feature for Twitter users as well.

  • FCC Issues Record-Breaking $225 Million Robocall Fine

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a whopping $225 million fine to two telemarketing firms in Texas.

    John C. Spiller and Jakob A. Mears used a number of business names in their operation, including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, spoofing robocalls during the first four and a half months of 2019. They falsely claimed to offer health insurance from well-known providers. To make matters worse, the telemarketers intentionally broke the law in an effort to be more profitable.

    Mr. Spiller admitted to the USTelecom Industry Traceback Group that he made millions of spoofed calls per day and knowingly called consumers on the Do Not Call list as he believed that it was more profitable to target these consumers.

    The companies made some 23.6 million robocalls per day, across the nation’s four largest wireless carriers (since the calls happened before T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger).

    “This isn’t just frustrating—it’s dangerous,” said Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “When we can’t trust that the number we see is the number that is truly calling, we’re less likely to pick up the phone and more likely to miss important calls from those we really care about.”

    Rosenworcel also announce the creation of a dedicated Robocall Response Team at the FCC, consisting “of over 50 attorneys, economists, engineers, and analysts from the agency, including the Enforcement Bureau, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the International Bureau, the Wireline Competition Bureau, the Office of Economics and Analytics, and the Office of General Counsel.”

    Hopefully the FCC’s record-breaking fine will discourage other telemarketers from engaging in such behavior.

  • France Upholds Apple’s Privacy Changes

    France Upholds Apple’s Privacy Changes

    In a win for Apple and privacy advocates, the French Competition Authority has upheld Apple’s right to proceed with its iOS privacy changes.

    Apple has been warning developers since last year of upcoming privacy changes to iOS that would prevent apps from tracking users without their permission. Apps are also required to include a privacy label that outlines exactly what data they collect.

    Needless to say, the advertising industry has been up in arms over the changes, clinging to the archaic belief they should have the right to collect detailed, personal data and track users across services and devices, without their knowledge or consent. As a result, the advertising industry is trying fighting on multiple fronts to force Apple to back down.

    According to Fortune, the French Competition Authority said Apple’s plans did not appear to be abusive, since “a company, even if it is in a dominant position…has the freedom in principle to set rules to access its services, subject to not disregarding the laws and applicable regulations and that these rules are not anticompetitive.”

    The Competition Authority said it would continue to investigate to make sure Apple is playing by its own rules, and not gathering and tracking more data than it allows third-party developers to track.

    “We’re grateful to the French Competition Authority for recognizing that App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 is in the best interest of French iOS users,” Apple said in a statement.

  • BuzzFeed Lays Off 47 HuffPost Workers, Will Shutter HuffPost Canada

    BuzzFeed Lays Off 47 HuffPost Workers, Will Shutter HuffPost Canada

    Less than a month after acquiring rival HuffPost, BuzzFeed has announced it will lay off 47 workers and shutter HuffPost Canada altogether.

    BuzzFeed announced the deal in November, acquiring an ownership stake in HuffPost from Verizon. The deal saw Verizon retain a minority stake, and the two companies agreed to cross-syndicate each other’s content.

    Just three weeks after closing the deal, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced the changes, impacting 47 employees, including eight managers. The remaining 35 are presumably journalists. Peretti said the cuts would help HuffPost break even for the year, and even pave the way toward profit.

    “Though BuzzFeed is a profitable company, we don’t have the resources to support another two years of losses,” Peretti said.

    “We want to ensure the homepage remains a top destination on the internet,” he added. “We also want to maintain high traffic, preserve your most powerful journalism, lean more deeply into politics and breaking news, and build a stronger business for affiliate revenue and shopping content.”

    BuzzFeed’s announcement is just the latest example of the hit media companies have taken during the pandemic.

  • T-Mobile’s Privacy-Threatening Ads Are Decidedly ‘Carrier’

    T-Mobile’s Privacy-Threatening Ads Are Decidedly ‘Carrier’

    T-Mobile prides itself on being the “Un-carrier,” but its latest advertising move is decidedly “Carrier” and threatens its users’ privacy.

    T-Mobile’s turnaround has been so successful that it will be studied in business school for years to come. Once the fourth-largest carrier, and facing major challenges, the company moved into second place after surpassing Sprint for third and then buying them out. T-Mobile now finds itself as a leader in 5G and the company to beat in the wireless industry.

    Much of that success stems from its Un-carrier status, with an emphasis on giving customers what they want. Unlimited data, taxes and fees included in the final price, international texting and data, as well as free calling to and from Canada and Mexico are just a few of the features the magenta carrier pioneered or reintroduced to the market.

    The company’s customer-focused approach makes its latest decision all the more difficult to understand, as it is automatically opting customers into targeted advertising that will use their data.

    Under T-Mobile’s personalized ads program, we use and analyze data from things like device and network diagnostic information (Android users only), apps on your device, and broadband information. This data helps us understand more about user interests (e.g., sports enthusiast, loves cooking, etc.). Using this information, we create groups known as “audience segments,” which may be used by T-Mobile or sold to third parties to make ads more relevant to you. When we sell audience segments, we do not sell information that directly identifies customers, like name, address, or email. Rather, audience segments are associated with mobile advertising IDs, which are long set of numbers and letters. For example, this might say something like “2drdn43np2cMapen084″ is a sports enthusiast.” Take a look at our Advertising and Analytics article and T-Mobile privacy policy for details.

    A spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that the company had “heard many say they prefer more relevant ads so we’re defaulting to this setting.”

    The company claims that the information is not identifiable and can’t be linked to a specific user. Unfortunately, that claim doesn’t even begin to hold water.

    “It’s hard to say with a straight face, ‘We’re not going to share your name with it,’ ” Aaron Mackey, a lawyer for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the WSJ. “This type of data is very personal and revealing, and it’s trivial to link that deidentified info back to you.”

    While Verizon and AT&T both sell customer data to advertisers, they both take the extra step of pooling the data together to make it much more difficult, if not impossible, to identify specific profiles. Both companies also have more detailed targeted ad programs, like T-Mobile’s, that share far more personal data. However, these programs are opt-in programs— not on by default like T-Mobile’s.

    Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to opt-out of T-Mobile’s targeted ads. Simply go to T-Mobile.com, click on Account > Profiles > Privacy and Notifications > Advertising & Analytics and toggle “Use my data to make ads more relevant to me” to “Off.”

    While it may be easy to turn the feature off, that doesn’t change the fact it should never have been an opt-out proposition. It’s one thing for free services, such as Facebook and Google, to make money off of targeted ads that use personal data and infringe on privacy, but it’s quite another for a paid service to presume to do the same. For a company that prides itself on protecting the consumer to do so…well, that’s just unconscionable.

    T-Mobile’s actions in this instance are more “Carrier” than the two wireless carriers it constantly mocks.

  • Postscript Raises $4.5 Million to Turbocharge Shopify SMS Marketing

    Postscript Raises $4.5 Million to Turbocharge Shopify SMS Marketing

    Postscript announced it has raised $4.5 million in seed funding to help bring turbocharged SMS marketing to Shopify and e-commerce stores.

    Postscript specializes in SMS marketing for e-commerce. The company’s goal is to help bring SMS marketing mainstream, while at the same time doing it in a way that respects users’ inboxes.

    The company has now raised $4.5 million to help it reach that goal. The investors include Y Combinator, Accomplice, 1984vc, and Ali Capital. Postscript also has the backing of some of the biggest entrepreneurial names in the e-commerce industry.

    “At Postscript, we obsess about supporting independent brands & e-commerce merchants and will always put their needs first,” said CEO Adam Turner. “Our approach to text messaging emphasizes brands build meaningful relationships with their customers by respecting the SMS inbox and encouraging two way communication. So far our competitive advantage has been our people and our product, and this funding will help us continue along that path. By operating remotely, we’re able to hire in any region, resulting in an extremely talented team dedicated to delivering a top-tier product and customer experience.”

    Postscript already claims Native, Brooklinen, StackCommerce, Frey, Oars + Alps and Olivers among its clients. The company also boasts 26x ROI with clickthrough rates ranging between 7.5% and 40%. Somewhat unique to the industry, Postscript guarantees a 4x ROI or they will refund a client’s investment — something they have not yet had to do.

    “The Postscript team has taken a product-first approach to a gigantic, fast-growing market, and the growth speaks for itself,” said angel investor Paul English, founder of Kayak. “They have outstanding founder/product/market fit, and I believe what they’re building will be an essential part of any e-commerce company’s marketing stack. I’m proud to support them in this round.”

  • Instagram Unveils Live Rooms, Ability to Livestream With Three People

    Instagram Unveils Live Rooms, Ability to Livestream With Three People

    Instagram has introduced Live Rooms, doubling the capacity of its Live on Instagram feature.

    Instagram previously allowed creators to go live with a single individual, meaning a livestream only had a total of two people in it. With Live Rooms, creators can now go live with up to three people, bringing the total participants to four.

    We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities — start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends.

    Live Rooms is designed to help creators monetize their social media presence even more, building on existing features. The company recently made it possible for Live viewers to buy badges to support their favorite creators. Viewers can also take advantage of the Shopping and Live Fundraisers features.

    Instagram says it is working on additional options, such as moderator controls and audio features that it hopes will continue to aid content creators.

  • JetBlue Takes Delivery of Its First “Reimagined” Airbus A321neo

    JetBlue Takes Delivery of Its First “Reimagined” Airbus A321neo

    JetBlue announced it has formally taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo (new engine option) aircraft configured with the airline’s reimagined premium Mint® experience and an all-new onboard layout, featuring comfort and connectivity perks that set the airline apart from other U.S. carriers. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at JetBlue’s home at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) tonight from the Airbus production facility in Hamburg, Germany.

    JetBlue’s A321neo with Mint features 16 Mint suites – including two Mint Studios™ – and 144 core seats. It will first operate on select flights between New York-JFK and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this summer. Today’s delivery – tail N2105J named “NEO Mintality” – brings JetBlue’s total fleet count to 270 aircraft, is the airline’s 16th A321neo and the first of this aircraft type to feature Mint.

    Via JetBlue

    “With so much excitement around JetBlue’s London plans, we’re delighted to also introduce our fabulous, all-new transatlantic Mint suites to customers on select flights within the U.S.,” said Jayne O’Brien, head of marketing and loyalty, JetBlue. “Our reimagined Mint and award-winning core experience, combined with the superior economics of the A321neo aircraft, will position JetBlue to compete effectively and add relevance to our customers in Mint markets.”

    “JetBlue continues to leverage the versatility of the A321neo — now featuring JetBlue’s Mint cabin design. The A321neo is ideally suited to the North American market with a winning combination of increased range and lower operating costs thanks to the aircraft’s reduced fuel burn,” said Chris Jones, Senior Vice President – Customers, Airbus Americas. “The passenger friendliness associated with the A321 cabin blend very well with these enhanced operating efficiencies and are ideally suited to meet the demands of trans-continental travel – perfect for JetBlue’s US routes between JFK and LAX this summer.”

    Travelers can spot the A321neo with Mint by its unique “Ribbons” tailfin. The design features three blues from the airline’s brand palette and is the first tailfin inspired by so-called “Op Art” – as in optical art – using simple shapes to create the illusion of three dimensions and movement.

    JetBlue Takes Delivery of Its First “Reimagined” Airbus A321neo

    All Suites, All the Time
    The first major design overhaul of Mint – designed in partnership with Acumen Design Associates – will debut on select flights between New York and Los Angeles this summer.

    • We made every Mint seat a suite: JetBlue’s reimagined Mint will offer more privacy with 16 aisle-access suites. Every inch of space anticipates customer needs, with features including a tilting 17-inch Thales AVANT seatback screen, wireless charging capabilities, an integrated phone ledge for multitasking, and easy-to-reach in-seat power, as well as laptop, shoe and handbag stowage. JetBlue is the first carrier to outfit its aircraft with Thompson Aero Seating’s VantageSOLO seat, the company’s revolutionary single aisle seating solution with a herringbone configuration developed and designed specifically for narrow-body aircraft and further customized for JetBlue.
    • Mint Studio is the pinnacle of space and privacy: The all-new Mint Studio – conceptualized by Acumen and developed in partnership with AIM Altitude – is JetBlue’s latest game-changing innovation, offering the most space in a premium experience from any U.S. airline (a). Each aircraft will have two Mint Studios in the first row, providing ample room for working or relaxing, and featuring a 22-inch tilting Thales AVANT seatback screen, an extra side table for added productivity, and a guest seat that can accommodate an additional Mint customer during flight at cruising altitude. When reclined, customers can kick back and relax on the largest lie-flat bed of any U.S. carrier (b).
    • Our proprietary seat design is truly a bed in the sky: JetBlue tapped Tuft & Needle – the innovative mattress company that pioneered the bed-in-a-box trend – to shape the entire Mint sleep experience onboard. Engineered for comfort, every Mint seat is layered with Tuft & Needle’s proprietary T&N Adaptive® foam and a breathable cover to create a cool and comfortable sleep experience unlike anything in the sky. The seat complements additional sleep amenities developed in partnership with the brand, including a convertible blanket with a built-in foot pocket, a memory foam lined pillow with a pillowcase, and a snooze kit with a matching eye mask and earplugs.

    Core and So Much More
    JetBlue’s core experience on the A321neo – with the most legroom in coach (c) – features the Collins Meridian seat, customized around customer feedback and featuring a number of design elements with comfort and convenience in mind.

    • 144 seats with a width of 18.4 inches, the widest available for the A321neo aircraft.
    • Seven rows of Even More Space® seating, all located in the forward area of the core experience, based on customer feedback.
    • 10.1 inch, 1080P high definition screen at every seat.
    • Easy-to-reach in-seat power, featuring AC and USB ports.
    • Enhanced cushion comfort and adjustable headrests.
    • Contoured seatback design at knee level creating additional living space.
    • Custom designed seatback storage.

    Connected Customers
    JetBlue will build on its reputation as an industry leader in inflight entertainment options with Thales AVANT and ViaSat-2 connectivity. With this system, JetBlue will offer every customer aboard the A321neo with expanded and personalized entertainment choices in nearly every region the airline flies (d). With JetBlue, all customers have the ability to connect an unlimited number of devices and stream, surf, or chat during the entire flight, from gate to gate.

    • 100+ channels of DIRECTV®, hundreds of movies, full seasons of binge-worthy TV shows, and custom seatback games.
    • Picture-in-picture function.
    • Enhanced, 3D flight map offering multiple ways to track time to destination.
    • Personal handheld device pairing capabilities for use as a remote or gaming controller.
    • Expanded Fly-Fi® connectivity, providing coverage to nearly the entire JetBlue network.

    Design Details
    JetBlue is also maximizing the A321neo’s ultra-modern design to create an elevated customer experience throughout the interior. Every aspect of the aircraft has been meticulously customized to create a perfect environment to deliver JetBlue’s award-winning service.

    • Refreshed onboard Pantry® with a mini-fridge and drawers full of complimentary snacks.
    • Spacious overhead bins for additional carry-on bag capacity.
    • Custom LED mood lighting designed to provide a more soothing inflight experience with lighting scenarios that change with time of day or phase of flight.
    • Four full-size lavatories featuring subway tile patterns – a nod to JetBlue being New York’s Hometown Airline®.
    • Custom-designed front and rear wall panel featuring unique and modern patterns.
    • Heated floors in front galley area for added crewmember comfort, a first for JetBlue.

    Savings and Sustainability
    The A321neo helps ensure JetBlue delivers on its cost-savings and sustainability commitments in the coming years. Thanks to the Airbus new engine option, the aircraft features a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency compared to the previous generation of the aircraft. It also boasts an increased range of up to 500 nautical miles. JetBlue’s existing fleet of all-core A321neo’s has allowed the airline to enter new and longer nonstop markets not previously possible with other aircraft types.

    Optimizing fuel burn is an important first step in JetBlue’s cost-conscious sustainability strategy, and prioritizing fuel-efficient aircraft and engines aligns with JetBlue’s approach to reducing emissions. In 2020, JetBlue became the first major U.S. airline to achieve carbon neutrality for all domestic flights, and later announced its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

    JetBlue continues to navigate the new travel environment with a steady hand and a long-term view on recovery. The investment in the A321neo with Mint allows the airline to continue to execute its low cost business model, and enables JetBlue to continue to offer low fares to more customers.

  • Judge ‘Disturbed’ by Google’s Data Tracking

    Judge ‘Disturbed’ by Google’s Data Tracking

    U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has expressed she is “disturbed” by accusations regarding the depth of Google’s data tracking habits.

    Google is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of lying to its customers when it says it doesn’t track them in Chrome’s Incognito Mode. When Incognito Mode is active, the browser is not supposed to remember browsing history, filled out form data, cookies, site data and more.

    The lawsuit alleges that Google is leveraging code in its analytics platform — which is used on countless websites — to bypass Incognito Mode. This allegedly gives Google the ability to scrape data to piece together a profile of users’ browsing and habits.

    According to Bloomberg, Judge Koh was “disturbed” by the accusations. When Google tried to have the case dismissed, Judge Koh said it was “unusual” that Google would go to the “extra effort” to collect the data in question, unless it was using it to do the very thing Incognito is supposed to prevent.

    Google is facing multiple lawsuits, both for its privacy practices and for alleged anticompetitive behavior. A judge finding the company’s actions ‘distrusting’ is not a good look for Google.

  • Google Improved Index Coverage Report

    Google Improved Index Coverage Report

    Google has rolled out an update to its Index Coverage report, bringing some significant improvements based on user feedback.

    The Index Coverage report is part of the revamped Search Console. It provides valuable insights into how Google is indexing the various pages of a website. The information is especially helpful to webmasters, giving them a way to track down and identify potential issues.

    Google revamped Index Coverage report to make it even more useful.

    Based on the feedback we got from the community, today we are rolling out significant improvements to this report so you’re better informed on issues that might prevent Google from crawling and indexing your pages. The change is focused on providing a more accurate state to existing issues, which should help you solve them more easily.

    Specifically, the improvements include:

    Removal of the generic “crawl anomaly” issue type – all crawls errors should now be mapped to an issue with a finer resolution.

    Pages that were submitted but blocked by robots.txt and got indexed are now reported as “indexed but blocked” (warning) instead of “submitted but blocked” (error)

    Addition of a new issue: “indexed without content” (warning)

    Soft 404 reporting is now more accurate

    The changes should be a welcome improvement for website operators.

  • Required WhatsApp Change Shares Significant User Data With Facebook

    Required WhatsApp Change Shares Significant User Data With Facebook

     

    WhatsApp Privacy Policy
    WhatsApp Privacy Policy

    WhatsApp is making major changes to its privacy policy, including sharing significant user data with Facebook.

    WhatsApp users are seeing an in-app notification of changes to the privacy policy. When going to WhatsApps new terms, it’s clear the messaging platform will begin integrating more tightly with Facebook’s other companies and services, including sharing data between them.

    As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information (see here) with, the other Facebook Companies. We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings, including the Facebook Company Products.

    The information shared with Facebook is substantial, including:

    Your account registration information (such as your phone number), transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address, and may include other information identified in the Privacy Policy section entitled ‘Information We Collect’ or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent.

    The new policies will take effect on February 8. The changes are mandatory and individuals will not be able to use WhatsApp unless they accept the terms.

    This is the latest reason why users who value their privacy should switch to Signal for their secure, cross-platform messaging needs.

  • Facebook On Target For 50% Market Penetration Latin America

    Facebook On Target For 50% Market Penetration Latin America

    Facebook’s growth may have slowed in recent years, but the pandemic is driving it to new heights in Latin America.

    As Facebook has achieved market saturation in many parts of the world, its growth has naturally slowed. As Business Insider points out, however, the pandemic has been a significant growth factor for Facebook, especially in Latin America.

    “In Latin America specifically, we now expect the number of Facebook users to grow by 8.8% in 2020 to 339.5 million, up from 7.3% in 2019 and more than triple the growth we originally expected for this year (2.8%),” writes BI’s Daniel Carnahan. “And for the first time, Facebook’s penetration in Latin America will reach over half of the population, at 53%.”

    It remains to be seen if Facebook can sustain its growth rate, and seems likely it will not once things return to normal. Nonetheless, its growth rate in Latin America is good news at a time when the company is under siege from multiple angles.

  • Google Now Facing Third Suit, As 30 State Sue Over ‘Illegal Monopoly’

    Google Now Facing Third Suit, As 30 State Sue Over ‘Illegal Monopoly’

    Google is being sued by 30 states, as the company faces its third lawsuit over abusing its monopoly in search and online advertising.

    Google is already facing lawsuits by the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as a coalition of 10 states. The new lawsuit is led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, and includes Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.

    “Our economy is more concentrated than ever, and consumers are squeezed when they are deprived of choices in valued products and services. Google’s anticompetitive actions have protected its general search monopolies and excluded rivals, depriving consumers of the benefits of competitive choices, forestalling innovation, and undermining new entry or expansion,” Weiser explained. “This lawsuit seeks to restore competition.”

    The scope of this lawsuit goes beyond the previous two, accusing Google of “engaging in a multi-pronged effort to maintain its monopolies.” In particular, “Google’s acquisition and command of vast amounts of data obtained because of consumers’ lack of choice has fortified Google’s monopolies and created new barriers to competition and consumer value.”

    The states have filed a motion to join their case with the DOJ’s case, which could significantly expand the scope of the DOJ’s case.

  • States Sue Google For Antitrust Violations

    States Sue Google For Antitrust Violations

    As predicted, a coalition of 10 states have sued Google for alleged monopolistic behavior in digital advertising.

    The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Google in October, accusing the company of abusing its monopoly in the search business. Shortly after, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that state lawsuits would likely follow.

    The first of those lawsuits has now been filed, according to NPR, with 10 states accusing the search giant of similarly abusing its monopoly in online advertising. The states involved are Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

    “These actions harm every person in America,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a video announcing the lawsuit. “If the free market were a baseball game, Google positioned itself as the pitcher, the batter and the umpire.”

    Google has said the claims are “meritless” and vowed to vigorously defend itself in court.

  • Facebook Sued by FTC and 48 US Jurisdictions In Antitrust Case

    Facebook Sued by FTC and 48 US Jurisdictions In Antitrust Case

    As expected, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with a coalition of US jurisdictions, has sued Facebook over antitrust accusations.

    Facebook has been under increasing scrutiny for its habit of buying up smaller competitors in an effort to head off potential threats. Among its most high-profile acquisition were Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram, in particular, was a major threat to Facebook, as it quickly gained a following and posed a threat to Facebook’s dominance.

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed antitrust charges against Google in October, leading many to believe a case against Facebook would soon follow. The FTC, along with 46 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, has filed charges.

    “Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans,” said Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”

    The complaint hinges on two main areas: anticompetitive acquisitions and anticompetitive platform conduct. Instagram and WhatsApp are examples of Facebook buying platforms and companies it perceived as a threat and was struggling to compete against. Facebook, meanwhile, has maintained that its acquisition of these services helped them grow into the successful platforms they currently are.

    Anticompetitive platform conduct involves accusations that Facebook restricts third-party access to certain APIs unless companies agree not to create competing services. Facebook has even taken measures to cut off competitors’ access to such APIs if they developed services Facebook deemed a threat. For example, when Twitter rolled out its Vine video sharing service, Facebook prevented Vine users from being able to access their Facebook friends.

    The specific jurisdictions involved in the case are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

  • Twitter Works to Make Advertisers Feel Safe

    Twitter Works to Make Advertisers Feel Safe

    Twitter is taking steps to ensure advertisers feel safe on its platform, a vital step for the company’s long-term growth.

    One of the biggest challenges social media companies face is balancing individuals’ right to express themselves with companies’ efforts to protect their brand. Facebook ran afoul of advertisers in June when the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found many ads from high-profile companies placed alongside content that would be deemed racist and offensive. As a result, Coca-Cola, The Hershey Company, Levi Strauss & Co, Verizon, Mozilla, Upwork, REI, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, The North Face and Eddie Bauer were just a few of the companies that pulled their advertising from the platform.

    Twitter is working to prevent that kind of scenario, with a new focus on brand safety, according to Business Insider.

    “We want every brand to feel confident advertising on Twitter,” said Sarah Personette, Twitter VP of global client solutions, in an interview. “Brand safety is a critical component to that.”

    The company has committed to audits by the Media Rating Council. Certification by the MRC is considered the gold standard, providing some assurance the platform’s systems are operating without bias. Twitter is also planning to announce third-party partnerships in the coming weeks, aimed at promoting brand safety.

    At a time when Twitter is working to stay relevant amid the onslaught of newer platforms, and is trying to walk the moderation tightrope, this is a critical step for the company’s success.

  • Google’s Problems Worsen: State Lawsuits May Be Coming In Weeks

    Google’s Problems Worsen: State Lawsuits May Be Coming In Weeks

    Google’s antitrust issues are on the verge of getting much worse, as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warns state lawsuits may be coming.

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in October, after an extensive investigation into the company’s business and practices. Even then, some of the veteran DOJ lawyers wanted additional time to make their case before filing, but Attorney General (AG) William Barr pushed head with the case.

    At the heart of the case is Google’s dominance of the search industry, where the company currently controls roughly 90% of the US market. This has made it difficult for other search engines, such as Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo, to compete on even terms. Google’s deals with device manufactures, such as Apple, to make their search engine the default only serve to strengthen its position and make it even harder for smaller companies to compete.

    It appears a number of states are set to file their own lawsuits. According to Bloomberg, Texas AG Paxton said state lawsuits could be filed “in the upcoming weeks and months.”

  • Kroger CEO: Customers That Engage Digitally Spend Twice As Much

    Kroger CEO: Customers That Engage Digitally Spend Twice As Much

    “Customers that engage with us from a digital standpoint also continue to enjoy coming into the store,” says Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen. “They also spend about twice as much with us. When you look at those things together I really feel optimistic about the future. We’re continuing to make progress on the things that matter on a seamless experience… digital, fresh, and friendly.”

    Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, says that customers who engage digitally come in more often and spend twice as much on average as non-digital customers:

    Seamless Experience of Digital, Fresh, and Friendly

    Every day our associates are taking care of our customers. We’re continuing to make progress on the things that matter on a seamless experience… digital, fresh, and friendly. When you look at the things behind the numbers continuing strong trends. If you look at the things that we’re doing it sets us up well for the fourth quarter and sets us to continue to gain share in 2021 as well.

    One of the things that our customers are telling us is they’ve learned how to cook, they enjoy cooking, and they enjoy the time together as a family. Also, I think the economy continually will continue to be a little bit soft which will cause people to eat at home more as well. Both of those things will continue to provide support (for increased sales).

    Customers That Engage Digitally Spend Twice As Much

    Obviously, we’re anxious for the vaccine to get here and to get widespread use of it just like everyone else is. We were making great progress in gaining share even before COVID 19 started and we expect once things get back to normal we’ll be able to continue to gain share as well. We can’t wait until a vaccine gets out there and it gets widespread usage.

    I really believe our teams will continue to take care of our customers and the seamless experience will tie it all together. What we find are customers that engage with us from a digital standpoint also continue to enjoy coming into the store. They also spend about twice as much with us. When you look at those things together I really feel optimistic about the future.

    Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen: Customers That Engage Digitally Spend Twice As Much
  • Google and Barry Diller’s IAC At Odds Over Chrome Extensions

    Google and Barry Diller’s IAC At Odds Over Chrome Extensions

    Google and IAC are at odds over what Google calls misleading marketing practices, putting a lucrative deal at stake.

    IAC/InterActive Corp. offers a number of extensions for Google’s popular Chrome web browser. IAC markets the extensions as useful tools to make users’ lives easier. These can include manuals for various tools, saving users from searching for them. Other extensions provide easy access to government forms, or daily Bible quotes.

    According to the Wall Street Journal, however, some of IAC’s extensions do not perform as advertised. Even worse, the Chrome safety and trust team found that some extensions steer users toward more ads. According to documents the WSJ gained access to, the behavior was egregious enough the Chrome team recommended “immediate removal and deactivation” of the company’s extensions from the Chrome store.

    IAC’s chairman, Barry Diller, has said doing so would be devastating to IAC’s business. That hasn’t stopped Google from removing a number of the extensions, although the company told Reuters it is still working with IAC and reviewing their remaining extensions.

    Part of Google’s concern as it moves forward is the need to juggle appearances with the security of its users. The company is already under extensive scrutiny over antitrust and anticompetitive concerns. As a result, any action Google takes need to be above reproach and not add to the scrutiny it’s already under.

  • Microsoft Buys Smash.gg to Boost Xbox

    Microsoft Buys Smash.gg to Boost Xbox

    Microsoft has bought Smash.gg, the site dedicated to building “active esports scenes around the games people love to play.”

    Gaming is becoming an increasingly important part of the tech industry, with recent information showing significant upticks in the amount of time all age groups are playing games. Games are also used for training purposes, therapy and community building.

    Microsoft has been at the forefront of the gaming industry for years, thanks to its Xbox console. The company has been expanding its influence, buying game studios and bringing some of the biggest titles to the Xbox. As a result, buying a company dedicated to esports seems the next logical step.

    Smash.gg posted the announcement on their website:

    Since we started in 2015, our goal has been to build active esports scenes around the games people love to play. Today we’re excited to take the next step in that journey by joining Microsoft to help strengthen our existing relationships and explore new opportunities. Smash.gg will continue as a self-service esports platform available to tournament organizers from all game communities. If you have any questions about existing tournaments please reach out to hello@smash.gg.

    Microsoft also confirmed the announcement via their MSN Esports Twitter account: