All articles tagged with #ad targeting
AppLovin's stock dropped significantly after Bloomberg reported that the SEC is investigating the company over its data-collection practices related to targeted advertising, amid allegations from short-sellers about potential violations and improper data extraction. Despite the investigation, the company has not been accused of wrongdoing, and its stock had previously surged due to AI-driven ad targeting technology.
Meta plans to use conversations from its AI chatbots to serve targeted ads across its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, with certain privacy protections in place. This move reflects a broader trend of monetizing AI chatbots, with other tech giants also exploring ad integrations in AI services.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri clarified that Meta does not listen to users' conversations via microphone for ad targeting, emphasizing that its powerful recommendation system relies on AI, user interactions, and third-party data, not secret audio recording. The company plans to enhance its ad targeting with AI data, which could make it even more precise, raising ongoing privacy concerns.
New research reveals that websites can track users through browser fingerprinting, a method that leaves a unique digital signature even when cookies are cleared or users are in incognito mode. This passive tracking can influence ad targeting and is often unregulated, raising privacy concerns. The study introduces FPTrace, a tool that demonstrates real-time fingerprinting use, highlighting the need for better legislation and user awareness.
Meta's controversial "consent or pay" model in the EU, which requires users to agree to be tracked and profiled for ad targeting or pay for an ad-free subscription, has triggered complaints from consumer rights groups. The groups argue that Meta's model violates GDPR principles and is coercive, lacking transparency and a valid legal basis for processing personal data. The complaints could lead to penalties and enforcement action, potentially forcing Meta to reform its business model. The European Commission is also overseeing enforcement of Meta's compliance with newer regulations, and the company's consent choice is facing scrutiny from multiple avenues.
LinkedIn is discontinuing its Lookalike Audiences ad targeting option on February 29, 2024, prompting advertisers to explore alternative targeting options such as Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion within the app. These alternatives utilize LinkedIn-specific data sources and may produce better results, aligning with the platform's systematic understanding. The move signifies a shift in LinkedIn's ad targeting strategy, emphasizing the value of its own tools over external data sources, and advertisers who have relied on lookalike targeting will need to update their approach.
Cybersecurity experts and tech giants like Facebook and Google have repeatedly denied claims that phones actively listen to conversations to serve targeted ads. While phones have the technical ability to listen for wake words, they are not allowed to secretly log conversations. Instead, companies like Meta and Google rely on the vast amount of data they already have about users, including age, gender, location, interests, and search history, to serve personalized ads. Our brains also play a role in the perception of targeted ads, as we tend to notice matches that align with our current thoughts and interests while disregarding instances when ads don't align. Until solid evidence emerges, the most likely explanation for targeted ads is a combination of data patterns, biases, and chance.