Large And (Not) In Charge
What do ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox have in common – aside from beefing up their burgeoning ads businesses within the last several years?
All three companies reach at least 45 million monthly users in the European Union, officially qualifying them as “very large” platforms under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Reddit and Roblox are now designated by the EU as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), Reuters reports, while ChatGPT is considered a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE).
These new designations mean the three platforms have four months to comply with additional obligations as mandated by the DSA, including mandatory risk assessments related to discrimination, platform protections for minors and the dissemination of illegal content. Platforms must also share data with the European Commission as well as national authorities and researchers.
And, notably, the platforms must have a “publicly available repository of advertisements.”
Becoming VLOPs and VLOSEs (which, as an aside, sounds like the worst Dr. Seuss book) also puts ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox on the same tier as Meta, Google and TikTok, all of which have been hit by massive fines for breaching EU regulations.
However, so far, only X has been fined for violating the DSA, specifically for breaching rules on ad transparency and data access for researchers.
Getting The Ban Back Together
Countries around the world are considering social media bans for users under 16.
Meta isn’t jazzed about the idea – and it’s turning to advertising for a solution by paying parent influencers to promote Teen Accounts.
Teen Accounts are Meta’s answer to the argument that social media is inherently unhealthy or dangerous for kids. They offer platform access to teens aged 13 to 16, but include screen-time and content restrictions.
Meta’s new campaign is meant to convey that “Meta is capable of self-regulating” and “bans are unnecessary,” Katie Paul, director of research org Tech Transparency Project, tells Rest of World. However, Meta’s self-interest is obvious, Paul adds, since young users are “essential to [Meta’s] growth plans.”
Some adults are on Meta’s side, though, and believe that outright social media bans “deny young people their fundamental human rights,” per David Green, senior counsel at nonprofit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation.
But others – including some of the influencers peddling Meta’s message – disagree. Or at least they used to, until Meta’s check cleared.
Indian actor Hiten Tejwani, for one, kept his children off social media until they were 16. But when Meta approached him with a paid campaign offer, he changed his tune.
“Instagram is okay” for teens, he now says in a video to his over 700,000 followers.
Don’t Play With Me
More advertising is coming to PlayStation 5 devices, whether gamers like it or not.
On Monday, Sony announced what it calls “Live TV on PS5,” a feature with more than 100 free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels.
Gamers are a difficult audience for advertisers to engage, in part because gamers are especially unreceptive to advertising. (It’s hard to pretend you’re in an alternate reality when someone’s trying to sell you something.) PlayStation owners are also less likely to be found in mainstream CTV environments, according to Sony’s data.
To help brands get in front of this elusive audience, Sony is programming its FAST offering with a mix of sports, news, action and horror, in addition to channels dedicated to “community,” Variety reports. Plus, Sony is creating two new anime channels for Crunchyroll, which it also owns.
Behind the scenes, Sony is entrusting ad serving to Publica and PubMatic, two sell-side ad platforms that specialize in streaming video.
Sony’s quest for more ad revenue makes sense, as gaming companies are contending with rising console manufacturing costs. Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki recently told The Wall Street Journal that marketing the PS5 to new customers is now less of a priority than monetizing the console’s existing player base, which includes 125 million logged-in users.
So don’t expect the encroachment of ads in video games to slow down anytime soon.
But Wait! There’s More!
Just six months after launch, OpenAI’s ad business has hit a $1 billion run rate. [Digiday]
Meanwhile, OpenAI is starting to let some of its largest customers pay only when the AI actually works. [The Information]
A former Air Force cybersecurity manager is using her social media presence to advise consumers on how to “poison” their data to make advertising tactics less effective. [post]
You’re Hired!
Another Meta executive has jumped to OpenAI: Meta’s former India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan will oversee OpenAI’s growth, partnerships, regulatory compliance and operations in Southeast Asia and Australia. [TechCrunch]
