Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Down The Tube
Amid the showmanship, YouTube’s Brandcast came off as a clear reaction to advertiser demands.
On Wednesday, YouTube announced unskippable 30-second spots for its top TV content. The new ad units will be available on TV for YouTube Select, the most viewed 5% of YouTube content. Unskippable ads will launch in the US first and internationally later this year. The video platform is also testing pause ads with QR codes.
Cable-like ads on YouTube seem like a direct rebuttal of the assertions made by TV programmers that YouTube ads don’t count as premium impressions. Advertisers expect a captive audience, not a two-second ad exposure that viewers can easily skip.
In response, YouTube TV represents a move away from the original YouTube experience, which is known for user-generated content. It’s an understatement to say that buyers don’t love UGC.
If YouTube can succeed in its efforts to gain industry acceptance as premium video, it could also continue to push for adoption of its video measurement playbook.
It remains to be seen, however, whether programmers will ever acknowledge YouTube as one of their own.
Balk At The Tok
A TikTok ban sounded pretty unrealistic … until it didn’t.
On Thursday, Montana became the first state to pass a law banning the popular short-form video platform from app store downloads. The law will go into effect in January 2024.
“Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect [citizens’] personal information from harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party,” declared Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte.
It might sound like an incendiary stance, but TikTok’s foreign ownership is a key reason why many privacy advocates have been advising that TikTok either be banned or that a US-owned TikTok division splinter off from the rest of the company to keep American data within national borders.
Under Montana’s law, TikTok and app stores will both be fined $10,000 for each day they make it possible for users to download the app in the state. The penalties aren’t aimed at consumers themselves, but it’s unclear what happens to user devices that already have the app installed.
After Montana passed its law, TikTok issued a statement asserting that the ban is a violation of the First Amendment, which protects the right to free speech.
Data Deceptions
Free fertility app Premom shared sensitive user health care information with third parties, including Google and AppsFlyer, without their consent or knowledge, CBS reports.
Premom, an ovulation and period tracker for people trying to conceive, has amassed quite a lot of data on users, such as weight, temperature, hormone levels, menstrual cycle dates, pregnancy start and end dates and pregnancy symptoms.
The Federal Trade Commission lodged a complaint against Easy Healthcare, Premom’s parent company. Easy Healthcare settled with the FTC and agreed to pay a $100,000 fine for violating the Health Breach Notification Rule. The company also paid a total of $100,000 to Connecticut, Oregon and Washington, DC, for breaking their state laws.
The FTC is keeping a watchful eye on how companies use private health data. Earlier this year, it dinged BetterHelp and GoodRx for sharing health data with third-party advertisers via tracking pixels.
The risks to consumers are heightened for apps like Premom, which deal in pregnancy-related digital data. The collection and use of such data has become more fraught since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Most reproductive health apps are not covered by HIPAA.
But Wait, There’s More!
How retail media is creating a Bermuda Triangle between retailers, marketers and agencies. [Digiday]
ChatGPT is now a mobile app for iOS. [blog]
Roblox considers adding online dating as a way to court older consumers. [Ad Age]
What to know about TikTok’s growth strategies beyond viral content. [Adweek]
You’re Hired!
Treasure Data names Karl Wirth as chief product and technical officer. [release]
