Behind the News
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Behind the News
Digital Advertising Malware in 2024: Lessons for 2025 and Beyond
The 2024 Ad Quality Report found that over 70% of users now perceive at least half of online ads as untrustworthy—a trend fueled by a 10% year-over-year surge in malvertising levels in 2024. Malvertisers are increasingly exploiting social engineering tactics to deceive users.
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Behind the News
When the Clock Stops: Ad Tech Leaders Weigh In on TikTok’s Potential Ban
If the TikTok ban proceeds, the ripple effects will be profound, forcing advertisers to reallocate budgets to platforms like YouTube and Meta. As the industry braces for the next chapter in the TikTok saga, questions remain about how brands and platforms will adapt to the new regulations.
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Behind the News
IP Address Targeting: Privacy Myth or Marketing Must?
Google announced that the company will allow advertisers to target audiences using their IP addresses starting next month. Is it a step towards balancing privacy with advertising effectiveness? Or is it a slippery slope towards invasive tracking?
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AI
Ad Tech CES 2025: AI, Everywhere, All At Once
As we delve into the key takeaways from CES 2025, it’s evident that ad tech is going through a significant transformation, but the industry is no stranger to change. We spoke with industry experts who attended CES, and here’s what they had to say.
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AI
Human and Tollbit Announce Publisher Tools To Ensure AI Agents Pay for Content Access
AI companies have been training their models using publishers’ content without asking or paying for it, making publishers angry enough to sue. A new partnership between HUMAN Security and TollBit might help fix this problem.
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AI
9 Ad Tech Leaders React to the DOJ’s Plans for Google
What happens if Google is forced to divest Chrome or Android? How might Google’s potential breakup reshape digital advertising? Seven industry leaders share insights on the DOJ’s proposed remedies and what they could mean for digital advertising and ad tech.
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Behind the News
Drake vs. UMG and Spotify: The Battle Over Bots, Metrics, and Manipulation
In a surprising turn of events for hip-hop battles, Drake has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify, alleging a complex scheme to artificially boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” At the core of Drake’s allegations is that UMG employed bots to inflate streaming numbers for Lamar’s track.
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Behind the News
The DOJ and Google Give Closing Arguments in Landmark Antitrust Case
The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google’s ad tech stack in early 2023, and both sides made their closing arguments yesterday afternoon. Prosecutors from the DOJ and lawyers for Big G summarized their arguments from the heated 14-day trial to convince the U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to either break up Google’s alleged ad tech monopoly or respect them as a big player in a competitive advertising Game of Thrones.
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Behind the News
Bigoted Spam Messages Highlight Ad Tech’s Role in Bigotry, Fraud, and Data Leakage
Bad actors aren’t as sinister as bigotry, but they played a part in the hateful texts sent to marginalized groups after the presidential elections. Data brokers often compile information by harvesting web browsing habits, social media profiles, and commercial activity, merging it with demographic and contact information and bad actors take advantage of it.
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Behind the News
The FTC Casts Shade on Data Clean Room Privacy Promises
Data clean rooms (DCRs) are hyped as a privacy-safe alternative to audience targeting, but the FTC isn’t buying it. In a blog post, the FTC says that DCRs “are not rooms, do not clean data, and have complicated implications for user privacy, despite their squeaky-clean name.”
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