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Tick, Tock, TikTok: Is Time Running Out for the Video-Sharing App? The question of whether TikTok will be banned in the United States due to concerns over data privacy and national security has sparked a heated debate among lawmakers and civil liberties groups. While the proposed ban would benefit U.S. digital media companies, it could have significant implications for the global digital ad market and would likely result in a period of uncertainty for TikTok and its parent company,
ByteDance.
The question of whether TikTok is going to be banned is a hot topic of discussion. The popular video-sharing app has become a global sensation, attracting millions of users, but also raising concerns about data privacy and
national security. While the app has faced bans in several countries, including India, the United States is considering a ban as well. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee recently advanced legislation that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), would pave the way for a nationwide ban on the app, which has been
labeled as a national security threat by its critics. The legislation, called the Deterring America's Foreign Adversaries Act, has sparked debate among lawmakers and civil liberties groups. Critics of the bill argue that it would undermine free-speech principles and violate the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans who use TikTok to communicate, gather information, and express
themselves daily. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Fight for the Future have urged lawmakers to oppose the bill, stating that it would infringe on people's privacy and lead to xenophobic showboating. However, proponents of the bill argue that TikTok poses a serious threat to national security, as it is owned by China's ByteDance and is subject to China's national security law.
The law requires companies operating in China to make their data accessible to the government, raising concerns about the potential misuse of user data by the Chinese government. The proposed ban has also attracted attention from industry experts and analysts, who predict that the ban could have significant implications for the social media market. Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham, has
stated that Snap, Facebook, and Google's YouTube could be "huge beneficiaries" if the ban ultimately takes place. TikTok currently controls 2.3% of the worldwide digital ad market, putting it behind only Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Alibaba. It is worth noting that this is not the first time TikTok has faced a ban in the United States. Former President Trump attempted to ban the app using
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but his orders were rebuffed in court. The bill advanced on Wednesday would revise the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by allowing blocks on certain types of "informational material" in some situations. A TikTok ban would not only benefit U.S. digital media companies, but it would also boost investor confidence in Meta, Snap, and
other similar companies. If the ban were to be implemented, it would provide an opportunity for these companies to gain back the market share they have lost to TikTok. This could lead to a surge in stock prices for these companies, as they would be perceived as stronger competitors in the digital media industry. TikTok has grown exponentially in the United States, with over a billion monthly
users in 2021. This growth has resulted in TikTok controlling 2.3% of the worldwide digital ad market, ranking it behind only Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Alibaba. However, with data privacy concerns increasing, a TikTok ban could be on the horizon. This would have significant consequences for the app and its parent company, ByteDance. Despite the legislation that was advanced by the U.S.
House Foreign Affairs Committee, it would still take a long time before any real ban could be implemented. The bill would need to pass through the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-majority Senate, which could be a challenge given the opposition that has already been voiced by some Democrats. Even if it did pass, Biden would still need to decide whether to veto or sign it. If a
TikTok ban were to be implemented, it would be a blow to the company's ambitions to export American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use their service worldwide. However, analysts believe that a weakened TikTok could be acquired successfully, leading to a period of uncertainty but not causing the app to disappear and get shut down entirely.
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Contact lens company 1-800 Contacts is seeking to revive claims against rival Warby Parker for allegedly using the 1-800 Contacts name in search ads. 1-800 Contacts claims that Warby Parker sought to deceive consumers by directing them to a similar website and misdirecting those who specifically searched for the
1-800 marks. U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Castel dismissed 1-800 Contacts' lawsuit, ruling that the search ads were not likely to confuse consumers. 1-800 Contacts has appealed that ruling, arguing that a jury should have decided whether the ads were confusing. The company has a history of suing competitors over search ads, with Lens.com being the only company to fight the lawsuit and largely prevail. 1-800 Contacts' prior settlements were the subject of an antitrust action by the Federal
Trade Commission. A new study released by Playground xyz, a leading attention measurement and optimisation company, has found that digital ad campaigns' carbon emissions can be reduced by 63% by optimising for attention time. The study examined 45 million ad impressions and discovered that on average, digital ad campaigns emit 5.4 tons
of carbon into the atmosphere, which is 35% more than what the average person emits in a year. By removing advertising from domains where attention time is below 0.5 seconds, total emissions fell by an average of 63%, while the average attention time per impression grew by almost 40%. The research suggests that around 40% of online ads are not viewed, contributing to poor brand outcomes and excessive emissions. The study also discovered that advertisers can reduce their carbon footprint by
avoiding websites with the highest carbon emissions, resulting in almost 60% less emissions. The media industry, which accounts for around 4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, is projected to increase by 9% annually. Jesse Angelo, Vice Media's global president of news and entertainment, is leaving the company just days after CEO Nancy
Dubuc departed. Angelo's exit comes as Vice is looking to sell parts or all of its business, and after reportedly missing its 2022 revenue goal of $700m by $100m. Angelo oversaw key parts of the company, including its news and TV businesses. He is forming his own company called Checker Media, which will focus on producing news and other non-fiction programming while investing in media startups. Angelo was previously CEO and publisher of the New York Post. Recent financial updates from the two largest SSPs, PubMatic and Magnite, show that not all SSPs are struggling. PubMatic’s revenue for the final quarter of 2022 dipped 1.7% on the same period the previous year to $74.3m. Executives believe the company remains insulated from the worst of the pressures weighing down on the ad tech industry. Magnite also experienced
growth, increasing 10% to $156m in the same period. The ad tech vendors have their fair share of problems, but demand for developing new tools and consolidating ad dollars into those vendors that do this best is increasing. The Trade Desk's comparative objectivity means some marketers may favor its offering to the walled gardens of Meta and
Google. However, the scale of these companies remains attractive to media buyers. Recent headlines that suggest a loosening of the walled gardens' stranglehold on advertisers' budgets were restricted to the US, and on a gross basis, the companies account for approximately 70% of the US digital advertising market. The rise of connected TV (CTV) is leading to even more walled gardens as premium, household-name properties account for 70-80% of CTV consumption, all of which have their own
proprietary ad tech. Some analysts believe the increase in CTV ad spend will lead to even more walled gardens. MonetizeMore, a global ad-monetization partner for web publishers and app developers, has acquired Advanced Ads, an ad-tech platform that specializes in advanced advertising management tools and plugins for WordPress publishers.
The acquisition will allow MonetizeMore to expand its advertising-optimization solutions by including specific Advanced Ads features such as flexible ad injection and the ability to target based on the user or page content. MonetizeMore uses PubGuru, an AI-powered platform, to manage web publishers' ad revenue across 40 countries. The integration between both platforms will begin soon, and MonetizeMore will continue to support Advanced Ads’ existing customers. GumGum, a contextual-first digital advertising platform, has hired Kalina Kehayova as Digital Executive and Larissa Jürges as Programmatic Solutions Manager in Germany. Larissa, who previously worked at Teads, will provide support to clients and agencies in running successful campaigns using GumGum's innovative technology. Kalina, who previously worked at OMD,
will focus on new client acquisition, establishing partnerships with existing clients, and developing long-term collaborations. Simon Tritsch, Commercial Director, DACH, said that both Larissa and Kalina are committed to building transparent and trustworthy solutions that will guide advertisers into the future. According to Wunderman Thompson
Commerce & Technology’s B2B Future Shopper report, 67% of B2B buyers want to conduct their online buying via an avatar in the metaverse. However, the report highlights a disconnect between the way B2B buyers want to shop and the options available to them. While 68% expect to increase their use of digital channels for purchases, over half (51%) say sellers don’t understand the friction points in the current online buying process and 45% feel it’s more complicated than making offline
purchases. The report recommends that B2B sellers offer a tailored, omnichannel experience and consider mobile, marketplaces, and social channels.e Nick Brien, former CEO of ad tech firm Amobee, has joined Enthusiast Gaming Holdings, a Los Angeles-based publisher of gaming publications and content, with a focus on accelerating new Web3,
metaverse, NFT, subscription and advertising models. Brien will work with the company to develop new revenue models from “creator” content, subscription revenues, new forms of sponsorship and emerging Web3 business models. While initially working with brands and agencies in a conventional way, Brien says Enthusiast’s platform could be “the tip of the spear” to the metaverse for many of them. Geopath, the audience location measurement service for out-of-home media in the US, has released new data adding hundreds of thousands of transit media inventory not previously accounted for. The data, covering a full year, updates the reach and frequency model to include transit media, such as display ads in transit terminals and stations, as well as posters placed on buses and commuter railroads. Geopath’s new reach and
frequency model will enable marketers to understand the audience weight of their campaigns in a given local market. The inclusion of transit media adds hundreds of thousands of pieces of out-of-home inventory to the mix. GroupM has partnered with global nonprofit Internews to vet the quality of local, national and international news
sites for programmatic media buys as part of its "Back to News" push. The initiative, described as an industry first, gives GroupM clients access to vetted ad inventory on news sites vetted by Internews' Ads for News initiative, which aligns brands and agencies with over 10,000 trusted local news sites across 50 countries. The sites and domains will be vetted by Ads for News into inclusion lists that can be applied to programmatic private marketplaces or a package of inventory against a
biddable price. The initiative aims to establish inclusion lists in 60 international markets by year-end. Molson Coors is appealing a recommendation by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs that it should stop implying that competitors’ light beers “taste like water”. Last year, Anheuser-Busch Companies
brought the case against Molson Coors to NAD over a claim made in an ad for Miller Lite. NAD said that claims of bad taste or no taste require substantiation, and that reliable sensory testing could show if a beer tastes like water. Molson Coors said it will appeal to the National Advertising Review Board, based on its belief that the ads do not expressly identify Michelob Ultra or any other light beers. |
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FROM SNOW CRASH TO THE METAVERSE: NEAL STEPHENSON’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE. Neal Stephenson, a renowned science-fiction author and co-founder of Lamina1, a blockchain-based start-up that aims to build an expansive metaverse, recently discussed his views on the metaverse with Tim Bradshaw, the FT’s global technology correspondent. Stephenson’s breakthrough 1992 novel Snow Crash predicted many technological advancements, such as cryptocurrency, Alexa, avatars, virtual-reality goggles, multiplayer online games, and destructive
computer viruses, that are now part of our everyday experiences. The concept of the metaverse, which is a virtual universe where people interact with each other through audiovisual bodies called avatars, was also first introduced in his book. READ MORE
NOW
THE METAVERSE’S SECURITY DILEMMA: DECENTRALIZED OWNERSHIP VS. CENTRALIZED
PROTECTION. Web3 is the evolution of the internet, where the centralized control mechanism is eliminated, and data ownership is given back to the users. The technology that underpins Web3 is blockchain, which is a distributed ledger that provides secure and immutable data storage. Web3 has been touted for its decentralization and user-centricity. However, when it comes to security and threat detection, Web3 is outgunned. Web3 has
five main blockchain security threat vectors, including user vulnerabilities, API and Oracle vulnerabilities, off- and on-chain data vulnerabilities, smart contract vulnerabilities, and node vulnerabilities. READ MORE ABOUT THIS
FTC CHARGES COMPANY FOR REVIEW HIJACKING ON
AMAZON Online shopping has become a common practice in recent years, and it has become increasingly important for customers to rely on product reviews to make informed decisions. As a result, online marketplaces like Amazon have created features that allow customers to rate and review products. However, it has become a growing concern that some companies are manipulating these features to deceive
customers. For the first time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed charges against a company for “review hijacking.” READ MORE
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF IN-GAME ADVERTISING?
Intrinsic in-game
advertising and measurement may be the future of marketing and advertising. Cary Tilds, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Frameplay, believes that the power of immersive and interactive content will drive significant engagement for all brands, big and small. This concept applies not only to gaming and the Metaverse, but to all content and media channels. READ MORE NOW
YES, BLACK INFLUENCERS ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY AND PAID LESS. Black influencers are treated differently, paid less, and seen as less serious than their white counterparts. This is a problem that has persisted in the influencer marketing industry, even with the increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in marketing. Black influencers face significant challenges, such as pay inequity and a lack of brand partnerships, that make it difficult for them to succeed in the industry. READ MORE |
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