Apple's recently delayed, but nonetheless upcoming, update to iOS14 (i)S 14.5) will include the already much discussed "App Tracking Transparency" feature, which will require that users give permission for apps to track them across other apps and websites. Given the extent to which Facebook relies on advertising revenue, they are understandably unhappy about it, and [...]
It has been a tumultuous month for Facebook and Google, as the world watched with interest while Australia threatened to make them pay for any local news content they displayed, Google threatened to pull out of Australia completely (to Microsoft's delight, as Bing was touted as a replacement) and Facebook simply banned the posting of [...]
In the middle of an on-going privacy battle between Facebook and Apple, Facebook is launching a strategy designed to circumvent a planned Apple update that will severely impact Facebooks ability to track users, and consequently, to serve accurately targeted and relevant ad content to them. The Apple update will force app developers to request permission [...]
In the last month of last year, lawsuits were filed by the US Justice Department against Facebook, and Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. Accused of using their market power to suppress, or acquire, rival companies, a judgement against them could see Facebook forced to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram, the platforms they acquired in order [...]
A poorly explained and understood announcement by Facebook recently has led to unprecedented growth in the user bases of both Signal and Telegram, rivals to the Facebook-owned WhatsApp. In the week after the Facebook announcement, which notified users of WhatsApp that they would lose access to the platform after February 8th unless they accepted the [...]
Recently announced changes to the latest Apple iOS operating system, (iOS 14), have made it necessary for users to actively opt in to the kind of tracking that Facebook has leveraged into the accurate targeting that underpins its profitable paid marketing service. Originally announced earlier last year, Facebook pushed back enough that Apple delayed the [...]
In a move which will no doubt be welcomed by Facebook advertisers everywhere, Facebook has removed its restrictions on text in your Facebook image ads, which was previously limited to no more than 20% of the ad image being covered by text. These text restrictions have long been a bone of contention for advertisers, often [...]
3 months after a major advertiser boycott which led to massive brands such as Coca-Cola, The Hershey Co., Unilever, Verizon, Honda, Birchbox, Ben & Jerry’s, The North Face, REI, and Patagonia among other groups withdrawing their advertising from Facebook in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody, the World Federation of [...]
After a 16 month long investigation, followed by a virtual hearing with the CEO's of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google (Alphabet), the US House Judiciary committee released a 449 page report at the beginning of this month, detailing the results of their investigation into anti-trust allegations against the companies that are commonly seen as the [...]
As we all know, online privacy, the security of user data, and the use which that data is put to have become significant issues at this stage of the evolution of our digital environment. As part of efforts to address those concerns, the EU passed the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in 2018, which governed [...]
