Hey!
Here’s your Last Week in Digital Media and all of the news you may have missed.
GENERAL
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the TikTok ban continues to be in the news, with TikTok filing a preliminary injunction to stop enforcing the ban scheduled for this Sunday (9/27). The judge making the decision even asked the US Government if they would consider delaying the ban, so he had time to make a decision. Where it stands as of Sunday afternoon (9/27) is the judge promised a ruling before the ban is due to come into effect which is 11:59pm US ET.
- for those tracking, the WeChat ban (at time of writing) looks likely to occur as both parties argue in the courts.
- always useful, the World Economic Forum has released its latest 2020 chart of what happens in an internet minute.
- Epic has acquired SuperAwesome; a company focused on making tools so that the internet is more kid-safe. Super Awesome has solutions for kid-safe advertising environments.
- P&G’s Marc Pritchard signaled (among many other things) that the P&G would no longer participate in the TV upfront.
- the stories format continues to spread, with Linked In now rolling stories out to all US and Canadian users over the next few weeks (it was previously in beta). Pinterest is currently in beta with the stories format, but to create Pinterest stories, you need to sign up for an invite.
- Spotify and Chernin Entertainment have struck a multiyear deal that gives Chernin a first look at optioning Spotify podcasts as a source for new video content (tv shows, movies, etc.).
- an earlier in the year deal that is only public now, Apple acquired Scout FM, a company that makes podcasts more radio-like.
- Instagram Reels has some updates. Reels an now be up to 30 seconds, timer extended to 10 seconds and improved tools for editing.
- Spotify is adding the ability to include polls in podcasts. It’s in a testing phase at the moment, and responding to polls is optional. It’s easy to see how this feature could appeal to advertisers.
- twitter is experimenting with voice Direct Messages. This builds on twitter’s existing test that lets people tweet with their voice.
ONLINE VIDEO
- Samsung is expanding its free Samsung TV+ service, making Samsung TV+ available to owners of Samsung mobiles.
- YouTube will be using AI to better apply age restrictions for video. This will apply to both logged in and non-logged in users, i.e., if a user is not signed in, they will need to sign-in to access the content.
- there’s an interesting article on Variety about a startup called The Fifth Wall. It’s a startup that lets viewers see on their device the mobile of characters in a TV series.
- the PeacockTV-Roku dispute is resolved, you can read the announcement here.
HARDWARE
- Amazon announced a lot of new devices. But one of the more interesting (outside of the indoor surveillance drone) was a not-yet-available game streaming service called “Luna.” Amazon is taking pre-registrations of interest for Luna.
- Google has a hardware event coming up on September 30th, but one of the devices, a Chromecast streaming stick with remote, has already leaked and been sold at Walmart. There’s a good Reddit post where you can see the UI of the new Chromecast in action.
REGULATORY
- Facebook is in a spat with European regulators, specifically Ireland, about data and privacy regulations, which has seen Facebook threaten to exit Europe. It will be a story to watch as it plays out.
- the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce held a hearing on social media’s role in radicalizing America. There’s an opening statement from a former Facebook and Pinterest executive (PDF link), Tim Kendall, that makes for compelling reading alleging that Facebook took a page from big tobacco to make Facebook addictive and drive emotional responses. It’s a must-read (PDF link).
- the US DOJ is expected to brief State Attorney Generals soon as the antitrust investigation into Google moves to the next stage.
- the US DOJ has also submitted proposals to amend S230 of the Communications Decency Act. This is worth a newsletter in and of itself, so encourage you to read the proposals and letters on the DOJ website. The proposals would limit a lot of the immunity internet companies currently enjoy.
PRIVACY, TRUST, and SAFETY
- the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) has released its global brand safety and suitability framework. You can download the full GARM brand safety framework here (PDF link). The next step is that media partners will now need to adopt and apply the framework.
- TikTok has called for the various social platforms to partner on a global coalition to prevent harmful content. It comes as TikTok released its latest transparency report (H1 2020); of note, around 3.3% of removals were for violation of TikTok’s hate speech policies.
- Snap too, released its latest transparency report. Snap’s latest report now includes details for violations of Terms of Service (ToS) and Community Guidelines.
- news organization The Markup released a tool called “Blacklight” that will scan a site and reveal what advertising and tracking data is used by a website. It also provides links to the privacy policies of any trackers it identifies.
- there are reports that Facebook’s Oversight Board will launch just before the US election.
- meanwhile, a separate non-Facebook affiliated group has established its own Facebook Oversight Board. Positioned as the “alternative oversight board.” Notably, this board includes among its members’ groups that helped organize the #StopHateForProfit ad boycott.
Have a great week
Joshua