A US FTC report on the data practices of Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and six other companies finds "vast surveillance" of consumers to monetize their information (Cecilia Kang/New York Times)

Mediagazer: A US FTC report on the data practices of Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and six other companies finds “vast surveillance” of consumers to monetize their information (Cecilia Kang/New York Times)

Top News:

New York Times:

Amazon joins the Motion Picture Association, after a long courtship; the lobbying group's other members are Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and WBD— The Motion Picture Association has been wooing the company for years. The addition gives the group a lot more muscle.
Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios Join Motion Picture Association

Christi Carras /
Los Angeles Times: Amazon MGM Studios is joining the Motion Picture Assn.

Sean Burch /
The Wrap: Amazon Joins Motion Picture Association

Press Gazette:

The Economist introduces AI translations into French, German, Mandarin, and Spanish for Espresso, its budget-friendly, “snack-sized” journalism app— The Economist has deployed AI-translated content on its budget-friendly “snack-sized” app Espresso after deciding the technology had reached the “good enough” mark.

Discussion:
Publishers Weekly and Ludwig Siegele on LinkedIn

Discussion:

Emma Kantor /
Publishers Weekly: Here, There, and Everywhere: Conversations with Children's Book Translators

New York Times:

For marketers, ensuring brand safety on YouTube and other platforms has become difficult during the US election, as their ads appear next to inflammatory videos— Large organizations and brands saw their advertising dollars funneled to videos amplifying inflammatory narratives …

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @tchambers@indieweb.social and @lauren@mastodon …

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck: On YouTube, Major Brands' Ads Appear Alongside Racist Falsehoods About Haitian Immigrants

Tim Chambers /
@tchambers@indieweb.social: Not great look for YouTube: — https://www.nytimes.com/...

Lauren Weinstein /
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org:

VentureBeat:

Amazon's Twitch is launching The Glitch, a “brand-customizable” game world in Fortnite, on September 20, with two brand partners having their own in-game worlds— Twitch has teamed up with Halo co-creator Alex Seropian's Look North World to create The Glitch, a brand-customizable game world in Fortnite.

Discussion:

Colin Kirkland /
MediaPost: Twitch, Amazon Ads Launch Brand-Customizable Game In Fortnite

Brandon Doerrer /
Ad Age: How Twitch will work with brands on ‘The Glitch’

Jennifer Maas /
Variety: Twitch, Amazon Ads Launch Fortnite Game ‘The Glitch’ as New Marketing Opportunity for Brands Including Domino's, Peloton

Chris Melissinos /
Chris Melissinos on LinkedIn: I am SO EXCITED to finally be able to talk about this! — Watching this go from concept to deployment has been so exciting! …

Patrick Moran /
Patrick Moran on LinkedIn: As a former Amazonian, it's a very personal and heartfelt moment of gratitude and accomplishment to have my start-up hired to develop …

Alexander Seropian /
Alexander Seropian on LinkedIn: This is something to pay attention to. When we started Look North World the promise was creating a new way to make games and build community. …

Wall Street Journal:

Amazon's new competition TV show, debuting October 30, will have entrepreneurs pitch judges, including Amazon execs; finalists' product will be sold on Amazon— In competition show, sellers compete in front of Amazon executives and celebrity judges — Coming soon: Amazon.com sellers duking …

Discussion:
David J. Katz on LinkedIn and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

David J. Katz /
David J. Katz on LinkedIn: Amazon's ‘Buy It Now’ reality competition show is set to debut next month — Amazon will try a new business model; consider it as “Shark Tank” meets HSN. …

Variety:

Study: revenue from premium VOD in India grew 38% YoY to $1.04B in H1 2024, driven by cricket; YouTube still makes up 92% of all online video consumption— Local content, especially live sports, were the dominant programming categories, across the country's ad-supported (AVOD) …

Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN and Deadline

Discussion:

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: Indian Premium VOD Sector Tops $1 Billion In First Half

New York Times:

A US FTC report on the data practices of Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and six other companies finds “vast surveillance” of consumers to monetize their information— Meta, YouTube and other sites collected more data than most users realized, a new report by the Federal Trade Commission finds.

Discussion:
TechCrunch, MediaPost, NBC News, Federal Trade Commission, The Register, @mulvihill79, @ftc, @senmarkey, @ftc, @chesterj1, @wendyndavis, @mattdpearce, How-To Geek, GovInfoSecurity.com, BleepingComputer, SiliconANGLE, The Verge, CBS News, ZDNET, Reuters, @aram@aoir.social, @stefan@stefanbohacek.online, @brucelawson@social …, Engadget, Federal Trade Commission and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Devin Coldewey /
TechCrunch: FTC report on predatory social media data hoarding hints at future regulations

Daysia Tolentino /
NBC News: Social media companies engaged in ‘vast surveillance,’ FTC finds, calling status quo ‘unacceptable’

Brandon Vigliarolo /
The Register: No way? Big Tech's ‘lucrative surveillance’ of everyone is terrible for privacy, freedom

Michael Mulvihill /
@mulvihill79: A blistering new FTC report out this morning details long-standing practices of consumer surveillance and privacy abuses by streamers and social media companies. Essential reading and long overdue. @ftc: Report recommends limiting data retention and sharing, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for teens 2/

Ed Markey /
@senmarkey: The @FTC's expert report makes clear: Big Tech companies “bury their heads in the sand when it comes to children using their services.” COPPA 2.0 will stop this willful blindness. Let's pass this critical legislation.

@ftc:
FTC staff report finds large social media and video streaming companies have engaged in vast surveillance of users with lax privacy controls and inadequate safeguards for kids and teens 1/ https://www.ftc.gov/...

Jeffrey Chester /
@chesterj1: Again & again, @linakhanFTC led FTC, with its on-point consumer protection division, peels back the commercial surveillance marketing apparatus which structures platforms & other US & global digital media. https://www.ftc.gov/...

Wendy Davis /
@wendyndavis: @linakhanFTC blasts behavioral advertising, says it “helped drive the creation of a multi-billion dollar industry specializing in tracking and collecting vast amounts of Americans' personal data.” https://www.ftc.gov/... [image]

Matt Pearce /
@mattdpearce:

Christian Zibreg /
How-To Geek: FTC Agrees Social Media and Streaming Services Surveil People

Sergiu Gatlan /
BleepingComputer: FTC exposes massive surveillance of kids, teens by social media giants

Maria Deutscher /
SiliconANGLE: FTC finds that social media, streaming giants engaged in ‘vast surveillance’ of users

Gaby Del Valle /
The Verge: The FTC says social media companies can't be trusted to regulate themselves

Kate Gibson /
CBS News: Social media companies, video streaming services engage in “vast surveillance” of users, FTC says

Cesar Cadenas /
ZDNET: FTC report exposes massive data collection by social media brands - how to protect yourself

Aram Sinnreich /
@aram@aoir.social: Kudos to the FTC for highlighting the prevalence and costs of surveillance capitalism but it would be even better if the federal government would acknowledge its own role as a top customer for consumer data. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Stefan Bohacek /
@stefan@stefanbohacek.online: “The F.T.C. said it began its study nearly four years ago to offer the first holistic look into the opaque business practices of some of the biggest online platforms that have created multibillion-dollar ad businesses using consumer data. …

Bruce Lawson /
@brucelawson@social.vivaldi.net: FTC Staff Report Finds Large Social Media and Video Streaming Companies Have Engaged in Vast Surveillance of Users with Lax Privacy Controls and Inadequate Safeguards for Kids and Teens https://www.ftc.gov/... Report recommends limiting data retention and sharing, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for teens

Lawrence Bonk /
Engadget: Sweeping FTC study finds that social media sites engage in ‘vast surveillance’ of its users Federal Trade Commission: FTC Staff Report Finds Large Social Media and Video Streaming Companies Have Engaged in Vast Surveillance of Users with Lax Privacy Controls and Inadequate Safeguards for Kids and Teens

Allison Schiff /
AdExchanger: FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak Decries The Term ‘Surveillance Advertising’

The Guardian:

A look at Intelligencer Today, a pro-Russian, anti-vaccine website with editorial board members tied to Trump and contributors tied to Kremlin state media— George Papadopoulos and others involved in Intelligencer, increasingly popular source of news in rightwing circles

Discussion:

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Trump's Surprising Ties to Another Russian Disinfo Scheme

Matt Bernardini /
@mattbernardini7: NEW: Ex-Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, a Pennsylvania fake elector, a woman linked to the GRU, and others, are helping to grow a Pro-Russia misinformation website https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Travis Gettys /
Raw Story: Bevy of Trump allies now working to promote Kremlin propaganda to U.S. conservatives @rvps2001@mastodon.social: 🇺🇸 Amid the recent crackdown on #Russian influence in American media, a group of former #Trump advisers and operatives have quietly helped build a pro-Russian website that frequently spreads debunked conspiracy theories about the war in #Ukraine, election fraud and vaccines. …

Laffy /
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social: Ex-#Trump advisers help to grow pro-Russia website that spreads misinformation — George Papadopoulos and others involved in Intelligencer, increasingly popular source of news in rightwing circles — https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Brian Whitaker /
@brian_whit: @MattBernardini7 More background here about Papadopoulos and his Russian connections during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. https://brian-whit.medium.com/ ...

Adweek:

A look at Erika Badan's plans as CEO of Food52: pivoting from mass retail, rebuilding content infrastructure, and launching a fresh slate of video programming— The two publishers share a business model but have vastly different cultures and commercial circumstances — Erika Badan understands the skepticism.

Discussion:
@seangriffey, @simondowens@threads.net, Simon Owens on LinkedIn and @markstenberg3

Discussion:

Sean Griffey /
@seangriffey: Really great piece on Food52 which has become a shell of its past self. I'm encouraged for the first time in years because it sounds like they recognize again that content is critical in a content-to-commerce story. https://www.adweek.com/...

Simon Owens /
@simondowens@threads.net: Many sites that made big bets on driving commerce revenue via product recommendations are now struggling to grow and even seeing a decline in sales. This could be the result of too many publishers rushing into the space at once, or it's an early sign that generative AI is having a negative impact on product recommendation content. …

Simon Owens /
Simon Owens on LinkedIn: Many sites that made big bets on driving commerce revenue via product recommendations are now struggling to grow and even seeing a decline in sales. …

Mark Stenberg /
@markstenberg3: Exclusive: Food52 saw massive growth during the pandemic, but a downturn in demand, lack of strategy and poor commerce model undid its gains. Now, former Barstool Sports CEO Erika Badan is at the helm, aiming to find improbable success—again. For @ADWEEK:https://www.adweek.com/ ...

The Verge:

YouTube says it has “widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers” after a “strong advertiser and strong viewer response” and piloting Pause ads from 2023— It's been nearly six years since we warned you that ads were coming for your pause button …

Discussion:
CNN, MediaPost, Engadget, ZDNET, Tech Advisor, BGR, Android Authority and Thurrott, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Ramishah Maruf /
CNN: YouTube ads can play even when your screen is paused now

Colin Kirkland /
MediaPost: YouTube Brings Ads To The Pause Screen

Danny Gallagher /
Engadget: YouTube is now showing ads when you pause videos

Laura Pippig /
Tech Advisor: YouTube confirms annoying change when you pause a video

Chris Smith /
BGR: YouTube will start showing even more ads soon

Laurent Giret /
Thurrott: YouTube Makes ‘Pause Ads’ Available to All Advertisers

Wall Street Journal:

Memo: Disney plans to stop using Slack in most units by the end of 2024, after a hacking group leaked 1TB+ of its data, including 44M Slack messages, in July— The company said in a memo that most of its businesses would stop using the tool by the end of this year

Discussion:

Jaspreet Singh /
Reuters: Disney to stop using Salesforce-owned Slack after hack exposed company data, WSJ reports Business Insider: Disney is ditching Slack after hackers gained access, and some employees aren't happy. Read the CFO's memo.

Robbie Whelan /
Robbie Whelan on LinkedIn: Disney is breaking up with Slack, the popular workplace communications and project management software. …

Jameson Hardy /
Jameson Hardy on LinkedIn: Disney is making a strategic move by dropping Slack over data integrity concerns. While the decision seems significant, questions arise about the extent of its usage and the financial implications. …

Nick Percoco /
@c7five: Confused by the @Disney transition away from Slack to something else. If the reports online are accurate regarding what happened, it seems the root cause of the problem wasn't Slack but rather a security culture where installing games and game mods on a corporate computer is

Sarah Whitten /
NBC New York: Disney to ditch Slack following July data breach

Robbie Whelan /
@rwhelanwsj: Disney to stop using Slack, according to internal memo from CFO Hugh Johnston. The move comes after a hacking attack exposed huge trove of private company information in millions of Slack messages: https://www.wsj.com/...

Sal Rodriguez /
@sal19: Disney abandoning Slack, as reported by @RWhelanWSJ, is particularly notable to me considering Microsoft didn't start taking Slack seriously until learning in 2015 that Disney basically stopped using email bc of Slack, which I reported for Reuters. How times have changed!

The Hollywood Reporter:

Ted Sarandos calls on streaming rivals to release their viewership numbers, says Netflix can double its viewership with live events and Christmas Day NFL games— The executive added that he believes the streaming giant can double its viewership thanks to programming like live events and the Christmas Day NFL games.

Discussion:
AV Club, Front Office Sports, Deadline, Quartz, IndieWire, TVNewsCheck and The Wrap

Discussion:

Mary Kate Carr /
AV Club: Netflix, self-proclaimed industry leader in viewership transparency, welcomes the British Invasion

Sean Piccoli /
Deadline: Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Calls On All Streamers To Be Transparent With Viewership Data

Bruce Gil /
Quartz: People watched a whopping 94 billion hours of Netflix in the first half of 2024, CEO says

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: Ted Sarandos Calls on Other Streamers to Be as ‘Transparent’ as He Says Netflix Is

Sean Piccoli /