A bipartisan Senate group is supporting a bill aimed at reducing the online advertising dominance of Big Tech platforms like Google, Meta and others. Introduced last week by Mike Lee (R-Utah) and championed by Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), the AMERICA Act — short for Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability Act — the bill prohibits companies that “process more than $20 billion in digital ad transactions” from owning multiple parts of the digital ecosystem presenting the advertisements. Proponents say the AMERICA Act could radically reshape the advertising framework that underpins the Internet economy. Continue reading AMERICA Act Proposes to Curtail Big Tech’s Ad Dominance

Twitter did not implement the check mark purge set for April 1, when it said it would remove the blue verification symbols from the accounts of celebrities, influencers and politicians who were not paying $8 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription. The weekend came and went with the status of so-called “legacy verifications” largely unchanged. Twitter’s owner and CEO, Elon Musk, says he still plans to monetize verifications, and that U.S. businesses and governments will be charged $1,000 monthly to retain their checkmarks — gold for businesses and gray for governments. Continue reading Changes to Twitter’s Legacy Verifications Lead to Confusion

Google is launching an Ads Transparency Center. The “searchable hub” rolls out to global users in the coming weeks and lets anyone look up who’s behind an ad, which ads an advertiser ran and where across Google Search, YouTube and the Google Display Network. Additional details are provided for political ads, including the amount spent, number of impressions and any location targeting criteria. In 2020 Google began requiring that advertisers verify their identities, and a year later began letting users access some ad info, but its transparency move follows Facebook’s similar offering, which launched in 2019. Continue reading Google Ads Transparency Center Offers Searchable Ad Data

Despite threats by U.S. lawmakers to ban popular social video app TikTok, parent company ByteDance continues to drive its apps to the top of the charts. The Chinese company’s latest hit is Lemon8, described as a rival to Instagram that serves a “lifestyle community.” As of Monday, Lemon8 was No. 10 across apps and games in the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts. On Tuesday it climbed to No. 9 among apps. The video- and photo-sharing app was launched internationally in March 2020, but ByteDance appears to have taken a new interest in promoting it. Last month, media outlets reported the company was paying influencers to post on it. Continue reading ByteDance Pushes Lemon8, a Possible Instagram Competitor

Canva, the web-based design platform, is debuting “Magic” AI-powered tools that can automate a variety of tasks, from logo design to video editing. The idea is to empower people without design training to do these things, and more. Infographics, advertising materials, illustrations and presentations are among the types of output Canva AI offers. The company is also adding brand management tools to its Visual Worksuite, including a Brand Hub that provides assets for creative application, with permission settings that can restrict off-brand use of things like color or fonts. Continue reading Canva Launches New Branding Features and Magic AI Tools

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on fraudulent tech advertising, which escalated substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, issuing orders to eight social media and video streaming platforms seeking information on commercial practices that are deceptive or expose consumers to false health-care products, financial scams and counterfeit or fake goods. The action compels services including Meta Platforms’ Instagram, Alphabet’s YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok and Amazon’s Twitch to provide answers in 45 days so the FTC can analyze their practices. In addition to fact-finding, the order is intended to pressure the companies to self-regulate. Continue reading FTC Demands Info from Tech Firms in Fight Against Ad Fraud

Google has opened a public waitlist for its Bard AI chatbot to users in the U.S. and UK. The technology, which Google intends to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, will be made available to increments of users on a rolling basis, the company said, with more countries and languages to come. Bard was announced last month. Powered by a lightweight, optimized version of Google’s LaMDA large language model, the company calls it an “early experiment” that will eventually be updated with more sophisticated models. The same can be said for ChatGPT, which already has more than 100 million users. Continue reading Google Takes Its Bard Search Bot Public, a Rival to ChatGPT

Meta Platforms is said to be considering the launch of a decentralized federated app powered by ActivityPub, the framework used by Twitter, Mastodon and others, according to a report originating in Mumbai-based Moneycontrol, which says the app, codenamed P92, will be “Instagram-branded,” allowing users to login using their Instagram credentials. A Meta spokesperson confirmed to Moneycontrol “we’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.” Continue reading Meta Is Developing a Social Network That Could Rival Twitter

TikTok is introducing a new feature called “Series” that lets eligible creators post collections of premium content behind a paywall. One Series can include up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long, and creators can charge anywhere from $0.99 to $189.99 for access. Creators will set pricing for their Series, which can be purchased via in-video links or via the creator’s profile. Series participation is currently limited to “select creators,” who TikTok is reportedly allowing to keep all revenue, after applicable fees. However, that is expected to change as the program expands in the coming months. Continue reading TikTok Adding Paywall for ‘Series’ Videos of Up to 20 Minutes

Twitter’s December adjusted earnings and revenue fell about 40 percent, year over year, according to reporting in The Wall Street Journal. CEO Elon Musk, who completed his acquisition of the social platform in October, has instituted deep cuts as he tries to reinvent the company hobbled with an estimated $1 billion in interest per annum on the $13 billion he borrowed to helped pay for the company. The troubles are due in part to bad timing, as the ad market on which Twitter and other socials depend took an overall downturn. Musk, nonetheless, remains optimistic the company will at least break even in 2023. Continue reading Twitter Revenue and Adjusted Earnings Are Down 40 Percent

In his first letter to creators, YouTube’s new CEO Neal Mohan emphasized the company’s priority for the year ahead is to keep providing creators with tools to make money. YouTube is also focusing on experiments with generative AI, and alternative formats including Shorts and podcasts. “A little over 15 years ago, I visited a company with an interesting take on digital video. As I walked through YouTube’s small offices above a pizza parlor, I could see the promise of the platform” Mohan reminisced. “In today’s challenging macroeconomic climate, we’re offering opportunities to grow a business on our platform.” Continue reading YouTube CEO Mohan Emphasizes AI, Creators, New Features

Meta Platforms announced today that it is introducing new creative tools and features for Facebook Reels, including support for videos of up to 90 seconds, extending the previous maximum of 60 seconds. The updates arrive a few months after the company unveiled support for Instagram Reels of the same duration (news that followed TikTok’s jump in video length from three to 10 minutes in an attempt to more directly take on Google’s YouTube). Among the new creative tools include the ability to create Reels with trending templates and a “Grooves” feature that automatically syncs video to the beat of a song. Continue reading Meta Adds New Creative Tools, Features for Facebook Reels

Although TikTok’s U.S. shopping rollout has gone slower than planned, the company continues to add features, with invited brands fielding an in-app checkout test. Clothing firms PacSun, Revolve and Willow Boutique as well as beauty line KimChi Chic are reportedly participating in the test for TikTok Shop. The brands have a small shopping bag icon on their profiles, which users can click to explore products through images, video and text. The TikTok cart can accept items from different stores, providing a centralized shopping experience. The move comes as Gen Z increasingly uses TikTok as a search engine. Continue reading More Brands Are Participating in In-App Test for TikTok Shop

After nine years as CEO of the world’s largest video-sharing platform, Susan Wojcicki announced last week that she was stepping down from YouTube, to be replaced by the company’s chief product officer Neal Mohan. The move comes after nearly 25 years of working for parent company Google, where she started as its first marketing manager (founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin famously set up Google’s early office space in Wojcicki’s Menlo Park garage). Wojcicki is known for leading the charge to acquire YouTube, co-creating Google Image Search and helping to launch AdSense, among numerous other accomplishments. YouTube’s number of average daily users has more than doubled under her leadership and content has expanded with new services such as YouTube TV, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. Continue reading YouTube CEO Wojcicki Steps Down After 25 Years at Google

The overheated podcast sector has hit an iceberg, according to recent reports citing staff layoffs and the end of the big-money talent deals that until recently had become  commonplace. Spotify, Amazon, NPR and SiriusXM have been trimming budgets while allowing costly agreements to expire without renewals. The sector grew explosively in the past decade, with the number of U.S. listeners age 12 and over who have tried podcasting more than doubling to 62 percent, or 177 million users, according to Edison Research. But now that the euphoria has worn off, a mature market is learning sustainability. Continue reading Podcast Industry Reins in Costs After Years of Rapid Growth