Hello
Last week has been a difficult but important moment that must lead to change in the way Black people are treated in this country and everywhere. There is a lot of work still to be done. To get an understanding of what can be done differently in media, I encourage you to read the latest issue of branded.
Here’s your Last Week in Digital Media.
GENERAL
- AMC Theatres has said it has “substantial doubt” that it can remain in business. AMC operates cinemas around the world and the success (or otherwise) of the company has the potential to redefine the digital streaming industry.
- mobile gaming company Zynga has agreed to purchase the mobile gaming company Peak for US$1.8B. Zynga is interesting because, as their annual report details, the bulk of their revenue comes from “virtual items” vs advertising.
- Pinterest has added a shop tab to the Pinterest Lens visual search results. The shop tab only shows results from “trusted merchants” that have been verified by Pinterest.
ONLINE VIDEO
- Roku has updated the Roku Channel to include an EPG like-experience with live linear TV with 30 channels. The Roku Channel also continues to provide free ad-supported VOD content.
- it looks like Google will be launching a new standalone streaming device that includes a physical remote. Codenamed “Sabrina” and will run Android TV. You can parts of the leaked marketing video for the new device here.
- YouTube released updated details on the advertiser-friendly YouTube self-certification program for Creators. There are 8 categories of content rules that creators must satisfy in order to be certified.
TRAINING
- a reminder, Adobe is offering free access to training across Marketo, Magento, and Adobe services until 30th June.
REGULATORY
- if you’re looking for a better understanding of S230 of the Communications Decency Act, listen to the latest edition of the Floor 9 Podcast where I interview Alison Pepper, the EVP of Government Affairs at the 4As.
- the California Attorney General has submitted the proposed regulation package for CCPA. This includes the final text of the CCPA regulations (PDF link).
- three marketers are suing Google for antitrust violations. It comes as reports surface that the States investigating Google will be pushing to break up Google’s adtech business as well as investigating how to limit Google’s power in online search.
PRIVACY, TRUST, and SAFETY
- in research from the National Research Group, around 3/4 of Americans are concerned about the threat of misinformation on social media and 2/3 believe sites are justified in fact-checking posts of politicians. For more details, there is an infographic of the findings (PDF link).
- Facebook will start labeling posts from state-controlled media on the platform. The labels will also apply to ads later this year. Facebook is defining state-controlled as not just financial control but also editorial.
- a class lawsuit has been filed against Google for tracking Chrome users even if they are in incognito mode. Google is disputing the lawsuit.
- the FTC has taken action against app developer Hyperbeard for COPPA violations, specifically “allowing third-party ad networks to collect personal information in the form of persistent identifiers to track users of the company’s child-directed apps.” The original complaint (PDF link) names AdColony, AdMob, AppLovin, Facebook Audience Network, Fyber, IronSource, Kiip, TapCore, TapJoy, Vungle and UnityAds as the 3rd party networks that collected the data.
Joshua