Category: ads

WSJ: Facebook won’t push through with plans to put ads in WhatsApp

[ad_1] The founders have strong feelings against advertisements, after all. In a 2012 post on the app’s blog, they called ads “insults to your intelligence” and said they wanted to “make something that wasn’t just another ad clearinghouse.” Jan Koum left in 2018, a few months before Facebook announced it’s putting ads in Status, though […]

How home assistants ruined us, an explanation

[ad_1] Understandably, everyone is doing their introspection right now; their year- and decade-end summaries of what was most dreadful in tech, and what lead to this mess we’re all in. I can assure you that one of the key factors is what we have come to call The Internet of Shit and how we’ve embraced […]

Spotify will ‘pause’ airing political ads in early 2020

[ad_1] “At this point in time, we do not yet have the necessary level of robustness in our process, systems and tools to responsibly validate and review this content,” a spokesperson for Spotify said. “We will reassess this decision as we continue to evolve our capabilities.” Politicians and groups like Bernie Sanders and the Republican […]

NBC’s Peacock streaming service may charge $10 for ad-free viewing

[ad_1] NBC hasn’t confirmed the potential new pricing, although you won’t have long to find out when it’s expected to detail Peacock’s cost on January 16th. The variable tiers would make sense. A free option (even if it’s tied to cable service) may be needed to lure customers either wary of a single-network service or […]

Ads on Facebook are spreading misinformation about anti-HIV drugs

[ad_1] GLAAD said it contacted Facebook’s public policy team and reached out to five fact-checking agencies, but the social network answered by pointing to a public ad policy page explaining why ads can be removed. In response, GLAAD posted an open letter asking Facebook to remove the ads, with support coming from 50 organizations, New […]

A bug caused UK election ad spends to disappear on Facebook

[ad_1] To say the Ad Library bugged out at the worst possible time would be an understatement. On Thursday, people in the UK will vote in what will likely go down as one of the most important elections in the country’s history. Who they decide to lead their parliament will have major implications on Brexit, […]

YouTube changes rules on violent game content to match movies and TV

[ad_1] According to the company, the change means fewer gaming videos on YouTube will be age-gated, allowing more people to see them. YouTube does, however, note that it plans to continue restricting content where the sole focus of the video is on the violent content itself. Starting today, scripted or simulated violence in video games […]

EU investigates Google data collection practices

[ad_1] We’ve asked Google for comment. In the past, it explained that it used data to improve its services and gave users controls to manage and delete their info. An investigation doesn’t necessarily guarantee the EU will file an antitrust case. However, officials have previously slapped Google with over €8 billion (about $8.8 billion) in […]

YouTube will make it easier for ‘edgy’ creators to find advertisers

[ad_1] In a letter to YouTube creators, CEO Susan Wojcicki said YouTube is looking for advertisers who might advertise next to content with the yellow icon, which means a video is “not suitable for all advertisers.” This might appeal, for instance, to a marketer that wants to promote a R-rated movie. According to Wojcicki, “in […]

Facebook may restrict highly targeted political ads

[ad_1] A spokesman didn’t confirm or deny the claims, but did reiterate to the WSJ that Facebook was “looking at different ways [it] might refine” its stance on political ads. If the approach sounds familiar, it should. Google recently limited political ad targeting to age, gender and general location, making it difficult to manipulate specific […]