Cisco’s annual survey: ROI on Privacy Investment found that 95% of global respondents deemed privacy a “business imperative” with 98% reporting privacy-related metrics to their company’s Board of Directors. Participants also indicated privacy was a priority spend for their company even in tough economic times with a strong return on investment that averaged 1.8x spending.
GoodRX, a discount drug app used by millions to find lower prices on prescription drugs, has been accused by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of sharing users’ personal data about medications and illnesses with Facebook, Google and other companies. Done without authorization, this is in violation of federal rules requiring health apps to notify consumers of wrongful disclosure of information. The company, though denying the charges, has agreed to settle. Additionally important, according to the New York Times, is that “this is the first time the FTC has brought... Read More >
Italy’s regulator, the Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP), has ordered US-based AI chatbot maker, Replika to stop processing Italian user data because of risks the technology can pose to minors and to some adults. The freemium app offers ‘virtual friendship’ via AI avatars trained to foster human engagement. Concerns include that some content is not age-appropriate for children, that children and emotionally vulnerable adults could develop addiction to the app, and that users will be encouraged to spend lots of money on avatar development.
Martech keeps taking larger bites out of marketing budgets: 17.3% last year, 19.9% this year, 23.5% next year, and 30.9% five years from now, according to the latest CMO Survey. This despite barely more than half (56.4%) of current tools being used and nearly half (48.8%) of the survey respondents reporting worse-than-expected results. Oddly enough, marketers rate selecting marketing technologies as the thing they do best.