- FTC says Amazon executives destroyed potential evidence by using apps like SignalIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge FTC lawyers submitted a filing on Thursday that claims Amazon’s top execs used Signal’s disappearing messages feature to destroy evidence relevant to the agency’s massive ... read more
- Eken fixes ‘terrible’ video doorbell issue that could let someone spy on youImage: Eken A company that manufactures video doorbells found by Consumer Reports to contain serious security vulnerabilities has issued a fix, the consumer advocacy group is reporting. Eken Group has issued a ... read more
- Pecker Pay Offs, Oh,My!The "Enquirer" publisher used Walmart as the morality police, determining that having the words "porn star" on a cover would be massively offensive to shoppers. ... read more
- Court Reinstates New York Law Requiring $15 BroadbandSiding against the broadband industry, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated a New York law requiring carriers to offer $15-a-month service to some low-income households. ... read more
- Why Privacy Sandbox Testers Are Relieved Google Delayed The Cookie’s DemiseGoogle gave third-party cookies yet another stay of execution. And the digital ad industry is not shocked. For companies that have been testing Google’s cookie alternative, the Chrome Privacy Sandbox, another delay was starting to ... read more
- Google is officially a $2 trillion companyIllustration: The Verge Google has spent the past year dealing with two of the biggest threats in its 25-year history: the rise of generative AI and the growing drumbeat of regulation. AI, ... read more
- I traded in my MacBook and now I’m a desktop convertYou can forget a lot about desktops if you use laptops exclusively for 23 years. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge When the M3 MacBook Airs came out last ... read more
- FTC Issues New Privacy Rules For Online Health Services And AppsThe FTCC on Friday issued regulations that will require operators of online health services and apps to notify consumers about "unauthorized" disclosures of their identifiable health data -- including, in some circumstances, transfers to outside ... read more
- How to delete the data Google has on youIllustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Think about everything you do across Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and everything else Google owns, and you get some idea of how much data ... read more
- Google adds AI conversation practice for English language learnersIllustration: The Verge Google is testing its AI listening skills with a feature that lets people speak into their phones and practice English with a conversational AI bot. Google first rolled out ... read more
- Apple’s last-gen MacBook Pro 16 is on sale for its best price to dateEven now, the last-gen MacBook is a speedy machine with a stunning, spacious display. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It’s been a good week for Apple fans. ... read more
- Akira Toriyama’s Sand Land makes a better show than game
- Drake has taken down his diss track featuring AI TupacPhoto by Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Tupac Shakur’s lawyers warned Drake that they would take him to court if he did not take down his “Taylor Made” diss track featuring AI-altered ... read more
- Space Vacation’s gorgeous prints celebrate fan-favorite moviesArt by Samar Haddad / Space Vacation A look at Samar Haddad’s bold homages, from sci-fi to comedy. Continue reading… ... read more
- The Upfront Evolution Explained: Q&A With DeadLizard's Todd Reinhart"The key drivers of change over time are storytelling, technology and resources," says Reinhart. ... read more
- Google Pixel 8A leak reveals seven years of security updatesImage: Android Headlines We’ve already seen a bunch of images revealing what Google’s Pixel 8A might look like, but now, leaked marketing materials shared by Android Headlines give us an even better ... read more
- Columbia University has a doxxing problemProtesters wanted to expose Columbia; Columbia exposed its students. Continue reading… ... read more
- Snap Boosts Ad Offerings, Revenue And User Base In Q1Snapchat will provide more opportunities for its ad partners as it continues to invest in AI and augmented reality, the company says. ... read more
- Earnings from social and search players signal that AI will be a long-play investmentMadison Avenue and Wall Street are receiving similar signals from Silicon Valley this earnings season: Generative AI will be worth the investment. It just might take a while. Google, Microsoft and Snap all reported results ... read more
- Snap To Rival TikTok With 'Spotlight' FeatureIn its Q1 earnings report, Snap Inc. highlighted the increased interest among its user base in Spotlight, the social media company's TikTok rival. With President Biden signing legislation that will ban TikTok in the U.S. ... read more
- Lego is bringing summer vibes with K.K. Slider and new Animal Crossing setsThe new sets include a Town Hall and Dodo Airlines airport. | Image: Lego Good news for those of us who love Animal Crossing and Legos. Starting August 1st, Lego is launching ... read more
- MRC Releases Finalized OOH Media Standard, First Phase Excludes AudiencesThe phase deals only with "impressions." Some see it as a step backward for advertising on the medium. ... read more
- Google’s Ad Network Biz Dips, But Search Brings Home The BaconBy next year, Google will have three separate business lines – Search, YouTube and Cloud – that each generate roughly twelve digits per year. That’s around $100 billion apiece. To put this into perspective, it ... read more
- One year with the Light Phone 2The first time I used the Light Phone 2’s GPS, I drove to Los Angeles for a date. I ended up parked in a red zone, hyperventilating to the rhythm of my ... read more
- DJI might get banned next in the USPhoto by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge After moving to ban TikTok in the US, the federal government could target the China-based DJI next. A report from The New York Times highlights ... read more
- YouTube Blows Past Q1 Forecast, Ad Sales Rise 21% To $8.1BYouTube overdelivered on advertising in the first quarter -- growing a massive 21% to $8.1 billion in advertising revenue vs. the year-ago period. ... read more
- Tesla’s Autopilot is under investigation again following ‘recall’ software updateCrashes involving post-fix Tesla vehicles have prompted the NHTSA to look into how effective the Autopilot updates were. | Photo by Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance via Getty Images Tesla can add ... read more
- New EU regulations target Shein’s counterfeit fashion problemImage: The Verge Shein, one of the most popular online shopping platforms, will be required to comply with strict regulations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission announced today. ... read more
- Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving linked to hundreds of crashes, dozens of deathsImage: Owen Grove / The Verge In March 2023, a North Carolina student was stepping off a school bus when he was struck by a Tesla Model Y traveling at “highway speeds,” ... read more
- BBC Launches First Brand Campaign To 'Make You Think,' Targets U.S. AudienceDeveloped in partnership with R/GA, the BBC is debuting a new site and app and enhancing its D.C. office. ... read more
- What’s next with AI?Illustration by Diana Young Consumers are already putting AI tools to use for both productivity and creativity. But what’s next? Continue reading… ... read more
- How to stop being reminded of memories you don’t want to be reminded ofImage: The Verge Last year, on a perfect spring day that also happened to be my birthday, I took a car trip to a beautiful area of New York state. It was ... read more
- Camila Cabello es la nueva imagen de BACARDí, la estrategia de marketing de la marca es una explosión del CaribeLa cantante cubana Camila Cabello compartió con sus mas de 65 millones de seguidores en Instagram el video del comercial de su nueva asociación con BACARDí, en el clip de 30 segundos se respira el ... read more
- Who's Who? In Hulu's 'The Veil,' Identities Are ShiftyNeither of the show's two principal characters is sure who the other one is, and both struggle to distinguish truth from falsehood in the stories they tell each other. ... read more
- Roku Extols The Virtues Of Third-Party Programmatic PartnershipsIf anyone asks what the main theme of Roku’s Q1 earnings call was on Thursday, say: “programmatic.” Although Roku doesn’t break out programmatic ad spend, it represents a growing percentage of overall video ad spend ... read more
- Cookie-Related Quips To Get You Through Google’s THIRD Third-Party Cookie DelayThird-party cookies: Can’t live with ‘em, can’t seem to get rid of ‘em. Earlier this week, Google delayed third-party cookie deprecation in Chrome for the third time. The end of third-party cookies will now happen ... read more
- GSTV Wants To Turn Gas Stations Into A Video Ad Marketplace
- Third-Party Cookies Will See Their End, No Matter The TimelineOn Tuesday, Google Privacy Sandbox extended its arbitrary timeline for deprecating the third-party cookie yet again, saving the industry from the looming Q4 deadline. But was it really that juicy of an announcement? There’s been ... read more
- Comic: The Curated MarketplaceEnjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … The post Comic: The Curated Marketplace appeared first on AdExchanger. ... read more
- Friends Lose In The Sandbox; The New Retail Supply ChainHere’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Maybe Next Time One painful aspect of Google’s third-party cookie deprecation delay is how acutely it affects companies making good faith efforts to ... read more
- Why some publishers aren’t ready to monetize generative AI chatbots with ads yetPublishers are testing generative AI technology for all kinds of functions — from onsite search to games. But monetizing those offerings is slow going. Some publishing execs told Digiday they’re not ready to do so ... read more
- Ahead of Euro 2024 soccer tournament, brands look beyond TV to stretch their budgetsWe’re 10 weeks out from the Union of European Football Associations’ Euro 2024 tournament, one of the largest sporting events on the planet and a major opportunity for marketers to get their brands in front ... read more
- Google’s third-party cookie saga: theories, hot takes and controversies unveiledLooks like those third-party cookies aren’t going anywhere just yet. And you know what that means: cue the flood of theories and hot takes about what Google is really up to. Digiday has gathered up some ... read more
- X’s latest brand safety snafu keeps advertisers at bayFor all X has done to try and make advertisers believe it’s a platform that’s safe for brands, advertisers remain unconvinced — and the latest headlines don’t help. Earlier this month it was revealed that ... read more
- Speculation continues to swirl over a possible WPP breakupWPP reported Q1 revenues of £3.4 billion ($4.27 billion), equating to a 1.4% annual decrease or a 5% reduction when “revenue less pass-through” (£2.69 billion, or $3.36 billion) is considered. Executives at the agency holding ... read more
- G/O Media Sells 'The Onion' To A Chicago-Based Company'The Onion' has been a cultural institution for over 35 years. ... read more
- Sony’s PlayStation Portal handheld is back in stock at multiple retailersIt’s not the Vita comeback we were hoping for, but the Sony’s portable remote player is still a handy companion. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge We may ... read more
- Roku Scores Double-Digit Q1 Gains In Revenue, HouseholdsRoku posted strong double-digit-percentage first-quarter revenue, with improvements in its gross profit and streaming households year-over-year. ... read more
- When Will Adland's Technology Category Start Growing Again?From WPP's perspective the answer is not this year. The good news: spending cuts have bottomed out and some improvement is expected through the rest of 2024. ... read more
- Google, Microsoft Bet Big On GAI In Q1 – And WinAlphabet and Microsoft reported earnings Thursday. Both had a better-than-expected Q1 2024. Google added several GAI features to search in the quarter. Microsoft said its quarterly revenue reached $61.9 billion from $52.9 billion, a much ... read more
- Smokey At 80: Respect The BearA moving PSA compels us to take stock of Mr. Bear's decades of professional forest-fire-fighting work. ... read more
- Judge Suggests New FTC 'Click To Cancel' StudyAn administrative law judge found that the FTC's 'click to cancel' proposal could cost businesses more than $100 million. ... read more
- Judge Suggests FTC Should Conduct New Study Of 'Click To Cancel' ProposalAn administrative law judge found that the FTC's 'click to cancel' proposal could cost businesses more than $100 million. ... read more
- FTC's 'Click To Cancel' Proposal Could Cost Businesses More Than $100 Million, Judge SaysAn administrative law judge has issued a recommendation that could slow down the FTC's effort to issue rules that would enable consumers to easily cancel subscriptions that automatically renew. ... read more
- Baltimore coach accused of using AI voice cloning to try to get a high school principal firedImage: The Verge A former athletic director of a Baltimore high school has been arrested and charged with using an AI voice cloning service to frame the school’s principal. The Baltimore Banner ... read more
- Google will finally put Keep reminders in Tasks, where they always belongedIllustration: The Verge The reminders you’ve jotted down in Google Keep will soon show up in Tasks. Google says the long-requested integration is coming over the next year, allowing you to see, ... read more
- Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3Image: The Verge Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. ... read more
- Meta Q1 Earnings Show Revenue Growth, Further AI InvestmentAlthough its shares took a big hit after its latest earnings numbers were released, Meta showed promising current and future ad growth expectations, with an increasing focus on video, AI and virtual reality. ... read more
- What Does Key Bridge Collapse Have In Common With Digital Ad Fraud?Fraud in bunkering (refueling ships) can include delivering less fuel than promised, and selling low-grade fuel at high-grade prices. Sound familiar? ... read more
- Major Brands Capitalize On New Age of Artist Endorsements In Music Industry: Report"Household brands are not just supporting artists but creatively integrating their products with music experiences to captivate diverse, global audiences and create deeper connections," says SponsorUnited CEO Bob Lynch. Major brands are using partnerships with ... read more
- The ‘Hollywood Con Queen’ gets a new documentary from Apple TV PlusApple TV+ Before AI meant you could impersonate someone’s voice with just a snippet of audio, con artists needed actual skill to impersonate famous figures. Take Hargobind Tahilramani, who allegedly impersonated such ... read more
- CISA ransomware warning program will launch this yearIllustration: Beatrice Sala The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is rolling out a program that warns organizations about potential ransomware attacks, CyberScoop reports. The ... read more
- TCL’s entry-level Q6 QLED TV has fallen to a new low price for a limited timeThe Q6 isn’t known for top-tier gaming specs and ultra-deep black levels, but it offers a lot of TV for just $450. | Image: TCL Here at The Verge, we spend a ... read more
- At Microsoft Advertising, Richman Balances Gen-AI Advantage With Human ConnectionMIAMI — What would you do with advertising if you had one of the world’s leading large language models at your fingertips. Amanda Richman would balance AI would humanity. The former Mindshare North America CEO joined ... read more
- WPP Loses Ground In The First QuarterThe holding company said it posted growth in the UK and Europe but those gains were off-set by declines in North American and Asia. ... read more
- BlizzCon 2024 has been canceledPhoto by Joe Scarnici / Getty Images Blizzard has announced it will not hold BlizzCon, the publisher’s annual fan convention, this year. “After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard ... read more
- Digital Video To See Higher 2024 Ad-Spend Share Than Linear TV: IABDigital video is expected to grow 16% vs. a year ago to $62.9 billion, according to an IAB report that shows digital video ad spend -- social media, CTV, websites and online video -- will ... read more
- Spyware dealers could face visa restrictionsIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The State Department will soon impose visa restrictions on people who it says have been involved in the development of spyware. In a press release ... read more
- Garry’s Mod is taking down decades of Nintendo-related add-onsImage: Facepunch Studios The popular physics sandbox game Garry’s Mod is pulling all of its Nintendo-related add-ons following copyright takedown requests from the gaming giant. On Wednesday, the developers of Garry’s Mod ... read more
- Linear TV Drives Higher Engagement For QSRs Than Streaming, Study FindsConsumers were 5% more likely to engage with QSR ads on linear TV vs. streaming platforms, according to EDO Ad EnGage. ... read more
- Divided FCC Brings Back Obama-Era Open Internet RulesThe FCC on Thursday voted along party lines to reinstate net neutrality rules that prohibit carriers from blocking or throttling traffic and from charging higher fees for prioritized delivery. ... read more
- Hands-on: this self-transforming Megatron is as badass as it is expensiveMegatron. | Image: Robosen Three years later, Hasbro’s self-transforming, dancing, driving, talking, and attacking Optimus Prime finally has a villain to fight. Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, is about to arrive. ... read more
- Google is updating Android TVs to fix a big Gmail privacy problemIllustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Google is working on a fix to block crafty individuals from gaining access to the emails of accounts logged in to some Android TV units. The ... read more
- Cities are ending their ShotSpotter contracts, but the sensors themselves are stayingIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Chicago and Mobile, Alabama, are cutting ties with ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot detection company — but the sensors that notify police about shootings probably aren’t ... read more
- The Countdown For TikTok Begins. What’s Next For Marketers And Media Buyers?President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that will ban TikTok from US app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform within a year. We asked the experts what marketers and ... read more
- Reddit is down, as an error message tells users to ‘try again later’Image by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit isn’t working for most users right now. The site isn’t loading and displays an error message reading, “Oops, something went wrong, please try again ... read more
- Meta Enhances AI Technology On New Ray-Ban CollaborationMeta has announced updates to its line of Ray-Ban smart glasses, which take videos, photos, livestream and more. Now, the tech giant is rolling out multimodal AI, a feature Meta has been officially testing since ... read more
- Meta Enhances AI Technology On New Ray-Ban CollabMeta has announced updates to its line of Ray-Ban smart glasses, which take videos, photos, livestream and more. Now, the tech giant is rolling out multimodal AI, a feature Meta has been officially testing since ... read more
- Threads will now automatically filter out offensive wordsIllustration: The Verge Just like Instagram, Threads will now automatically filter out potentially offensive words, phrases, or emoji by default. In a post on Thursday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced that the ... read more
- EPA administrator Michael Regan on undoing the toxic legacy of power plants in the USEPA administrator Michael Regan during the EPA’s “Journey to Justice” tour on November 16th, 2021. | USEPA photo by Eric Vance The Verge spoke to EPA administrator Michael Regan about the ... read more
- The Fossil-size hole in Wear OSFor Fossil, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge When Fossil announced it was leaving the Android smartwatch space, I wasn’t surprised. The signs ... read more
- FCC votes to restore net neutralityCath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Federal Communications Commission voted 3–2 to restore net neutrality rules, reversing a repeal ushered through during the Trump administration. Net neutrality ... read more
- Wacom says its first OLED drawing tablet is cool and skinnyImage: Wacom Wacom has thrown a tablet-shaped curveball at digital creatives waiting on Apple’s highly anticipated OLED iPads. The company introduced the Wacom Movink 13 on Wednesday, its own OLED-based offering that ... read more
- Peacock Q1: Subscribers Rise 3M, Revenue Higher But Losses ContinueAlthough Peacock added another three million paid subscribers in Q1 to 34 million, losses continued, according to the company's Q1 financial release. ... read more
- Consolidation In Streaming Is Coming – Small Apps First?A key sign of what is to come is the prospect - or the lack - of new TV series, movies, and other content. ... read more
- Ford looks to future EV breakthroughs — and smaller cars — to staunch the bleedingImage: Ford Ford is the No. 2 seller of electric vehicles in the US. It’s very proud of that fact, but the amount of cash it had to burn to get there ... read more
- Meta Reports Record Q1 Revenue, But Its Plan For The AI Long Game Has Investors SpookedMeta’s ad business keeps chugging along, thanks largely to investments in AI-based content recommendation and ad optimization. The company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of revenue growth in its Q1 2024 earnings call on Wednesday. ... read more
- The Third Delay For Third-Party Cookies Leaves Ad Tech In LimboWell, folks, it’s happened again. For the third time, Google pushed back its original deadline to remove third-party cookies from Chrome. On Tuesday, it said it would no longer remove cookies in 2024, and didn’t ... read more
- Google Meet now lets you switch devices without hanging upIllustration: The Verge Google is making it a lot easier to move between devices during a meeting. The new “Switch here” feature allows you to move an active Meet call from your ... read more
- TelevisaUnivision ofrecerá experiencia de compra IA a su audiencia durante los Latin American Music AwardsLos Latin American Music Awards tendrán una particularidad para su audiencia este año, gracias a una asociación de TelevisaUnivision y Shopsense IA televidentes podrán gozar de una experiencia de compra directa mientras disfrutan de la ... read more
- GroupM Unveils 'New Buyer Identifier' Data For CPG ClientsThe agency group says the "first-to-market" data is part of an exclusive deal with consumer data giant NCSolutions available to CPG clients using GroupM agencies to buy media programmatically. ... read more
- Anyone want to buy TikTok?Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge It was going to happen, and then it wasn’t going to happen, and then it happened. The United States Congress passed a bill that would either ... read more
- People’s Shopping Data Underpin Ad Targeting: Instacart’s Suzanne SkopMIAMI – Shopping habits changed dramatically during the pandemic as millions of consumers brought groceries online for the time. Delivery service Instacart is a pivotal part of that shift, and is building on its shopper ... read more
- Ulta Beauty’s UB Media Glows Up Retail Media With a Spark of Joy and Robust DataIn beauty retail, standing out means more than just offering the best products; it involves creating an experience that resonates with consumers and advertisers alike. In this video interview with Beet.TV, Alyson Soderberg, Sr. Director at ... read more
- Microsoft needs to win back trustCath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images The world’s largest tech company has a security problem. A series of high-profile security incidents have rocked Microsoft over the past few ... read more
- The IAB Predicts Social Video Will Overtake CTV This YearThe IAB projects digital video ad spend will rise to $63 billion in 2024, representing a 16% increase from last year. Of the three video ad categories the report breaks out (social and online video ... read more
- The Future of Advertising is Machine Learning-Driven: Moloco’s SimonSAN JUAN, PR — In a digital age where artificial intelligence (AI) is the buzzword on every tech enthusiast’s lips, it’s easy to get swept up in the futuristic allure of generative AI. But according to Dave ... read more
- Beyond Cookies: Using Location Intelligence To Power Privacy-First Audience SegmentationThe cookie deprecation drama has turned into one of those cheesy slasher movies where the villain comically pops back up again and again from near-certain death. Marketers and advertisers are rightly tired of this limbo. ... read more
- Streaming, CTV CPMs Under Pressure As New Ad Options ExpandAs competitors ramp up their AVOD options for their streaming/digital platforms, growing CTV inventory is expected to "outpace demand near term," says Bernstein Research. ... read more
- Digital Agencies Still A Drag On IPG GrowthHuge and R/GA are still posing a significant drag on the company's growth-about 1.5 percentage points in Q1. ... read more