Oct 12, 2015 | Facebook marketing, Regulation, Social media, UK
Facebook has defended paying just £4,327 in UK corporation tax for the whole of last year, saying it operates within the law. The amount is less than the average UK worker, who with an annual salary of £26,500, would contribute a total of £5,393 through income tax and...
Oct 8, 2015 | Regulation
In a dramatic judgement, the European Court of Justice has struck down the Safe Harbour agreement that has allowed companies to transfer data to the US. But while the ruling has potentially serious impact in the long term, marketers don’t need to panic just yet. While...
Oct 6, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Online advertising, Regulation, Search engine marketing
Europe’s biggest airline Ryanair has hit out at Google for “misleading” search ads sending searchers to third-party booking sites and is calling on the search giant to enforce advertising transparency. In a press release, the airline points to a...
Sep 30, 2015 | Content marketing, Online advertising, Regulation
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK) has released a set of guidelines to help the marketing industry provide more transparency to consumers around digital advertorials. The guidelines provide advertisers, publishers, agencies and advertising technology companies...
Sep 29, 2015 | Online advertising, Regulation
As ad blocking becomes more common, Unruly has launched a new video lab designed to help advertisers tackle the increase in this type of software that’s proving a headache for marketers. The “Future Video Lab”, based at the video ad tech company’s US HQ in New...
Sep 24, 2015 | Online advertising, Online video, Regulation
Google has been accused of charging AdWords advertisers for YouTube clicks even when its own systems have correctly identified the viewer as a bot, according to new research. A group of European researchers behind the study carried out an experiment in which they...
Sep 22, 2015 | France, Regulation, Search engine marketing
A French privacy watchdog has rules that Google should extend its Euopean ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling to the rest of its search engines worldwide. In a press release, the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (or CNIL) upheld its decision earlier...
Sep 21, 2015 | Online advertising, Regulation
AVG has been criticised for its recently updated privacy policy, letting the computer security firm keep the browsing history of its users and sell that information on to third parties. The new policy comes into effect until the 15th of October and has already caught...
Sep 17, 2015 | Mobile, Regulation, Russia
Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog has accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the market by forcing phone-makers to pre-install its apps on Android phones. The firm could face penalties of up to 15% of its 2014 revenue in Russia. The case was originally...
Sep 14, 2015 | Mobile, Online advertising, Regulation
If you’re an advertiser, Apple is about to make your job more difficult. The latest IOS 9 for iPhones and iPads allows mobile ad blocking and introduces a Flipboard-style news aggregator that favours iAds over rivals. We look at the implications as Apple changes the...
Sep 11, 2015 | Mobile, Regulation
The UK government has launched a national programme called IoTUK which it said will “amplify” the UK’s Internet of Things (IoT) capability. IoTUK will be all about pushing IoT entrepreneurship, the government said, and will collaborate with...
Sep 9, 2015 | Online advertising, Online video, Regulation
In a controversial move, Google has introduced a new extension to its Chrome browser that prevents AdBlock plus users from skipping YouTube ads. You have never known terror until you experience the moment when you realize AdBlock no longer works on YouTube.—...
Sep 8, 2015 | Mobile, Online advertising, Regulation
For the first time, Apple will allow adverts to be blocked by the iPhone and iPad versions of Safari, in a move is likely please users, but will concern both advertisers and publishers alike. Ad blockers have been available on desktop browsers for years, but analysts...
Sep 8, 2015 | Online video, Regulation
YouTubers on a popular YouTube channel recieved hidden payments to promote the Xbox One gaming console on their video blogs, it has been revealed. Video bloggers were paid up to $30,000 (£20,000) to endorse the Xbox One as part of a “deceptive” ad campaign...
Sep 8, 2015 | Mobile, Regulation
Car maker Fiat Chrysler has recalled 8,000 vehicles after fears that hackers could take over the controls from the driver. The recall is of the new Jeep Renegade SUV, and specifically those ordered with 6.5in touchscreens in the dashboard. The 2015 Jeep Renegade comes...
Sep 7, 2015 | Regulation, UK
Most Brits have opted-out of using their ISPs internet filter due to uncertainty around its effectiveness and concern about their internet access being restricted, while 49% have encountered a seemingly legitimate site being blocked, according to new research....
Sep 4, 2015 | Online advertising, Regulation
Malicious adverts have been found on the UK version of the online dating website Match.com, leaving users vulnerable to computer viruses. Match briefly suspended adverts on the UK site while it investigated. the issue that put online daters at risk of theft of...
Sep 2, 2015 | Regulation
Wikipedia has blocked 381 user accounts for ‘black hat’ editing in what it believes was a coordinated spam campaign carried out by a single group. The scam Wikipedia editors who have allegedly blackmailing small businesses and celebrities for money to update their...
Sep 2, 2015 | Regulation
Hundreds of thousands of people signed up for infidelity website Ashley Madison in the last week, even after hackers leaked data about millions of its clients, according to the company. The news comes after the founder and CEO Noel Biderman had stepped down as chief...
Aug 26, 2015 | Marketing through gaming, Regulation
Two popular free-to play kids games, Moshi Monsters and Bin Weevils, have been forced to alter their in-game messaging after the ASA ruled the wording was “direct exhortations to buy a membership package”. Moshi Monsters was critised for a game level that, while open...
