Merging > Bundling: That’s according to Warner Bros. Discovery’s incoming CFO, who says that Discovery Plus and HBO Max will (eventually) meld to create what they hope to be a Netflix killer.
The closure of an ad-free YouTube app is a reminder of ad blockers’ prominence: Digital advertising efforts are at odds with the experience most internet users want.
US consumers pined for pre-pandemic pleasures in Q4 2021, with the delta wave receding and omicron just entering the frame—and it showed in their search behavior. Organic Google search visits to travel sites increased 41% year over year that quarter. Meanwhile, retail and consumer goods took a hit: Visits to those sites decreased 14% as the prospects of in-store shopping improved.
Traffic on ecommerce websites and apps is ground zero for establishing a retail media network.
ISPs juice their plans for those who’ll pay: Multi-gigabit internet speeds help digitally transformed households keep pace with smart devices, but they also deepen connectivity inequities. We detail the problem below..
Ties to Russian heritage are no longer an advantage: Stoli vodka is rebranding to educate consumers that it is actually Latvian.
Google and Meta head toward another major showdown with Europe’s regulators: A new investigation alleges the two companies made a deal to block competition against Google’s ad system.
Facial recognition tech gets lost in legal fog: Lack of regulation over biometric data muddies Clearview AI’s business prospects and shrouds criminal justice system, putting people at risk of misidentification.
Everyone’s concerned about children’s privacy and safety on social media: As more consumers demand that social platforms be scrutinized, a case against TikTok’s handling of children's private data proceeds.
Thinner and lighter devices are a repairability problem: Tech companies like to talk about how far ahead they are in sustainability, but their products undermine their net-zero aspirations.
The online mortgage lender’s latest snafu casts a spotlight (yet again!) on the value of employer branding in a tight hiring market.
Read the latest stories in advertising from Insider Intelligence.
While banks work to fight fraud, customers are bristling at some of their security measures. Around the world, 35% of banking customers said what irritates them most is that the authentication factors keep changing. Another 24% are most annoyed by their card being declined for legitimate purchases.
Ukraine’s internet access suffering outages from Russian bombardment: Internet companies scramble to restore services but have to limit bandwidth. Skylink’s internet is helping fill gaps but could also be targeted.
Google looks to cybersecurity acquisition to make its cloud more attractive to enterprise: It’s working to acquire Mandiant, the company that exposed the SolarWinds hack in 2020, for $5.3 billion.
Amazon’s Amp looks to differentiate itself in the crowded live audio field: Mobile app lets users play DJ and leverage retail giant’s mighty song catalog.
YouTube’s podcasting “grants” show the power of video: The platform is offering up to six figures to help podcasters launch video versions of their shows.
TikTok is the latest platform at odds with regulators over data privacy: A class-action lawsuit alleges the platform misused underage users’ data.
List of Big Tech companies, carmakers shunning Russia grows longer: Services and apps go dark, putting pressure on Russian consumers. But will continued sanctions influence the Russian government?
How the metaverse’s woolly mammoth could come alive: As extinct virtual animals emerge in the metaverse, they could serve as a test for researchers aiming to resurrect their flesh-and-blood counterparts.