While still a concept, Mark Zuckerberg intends for the Metaverse to be a game changer and the successor to the mobile internet, as he explained in a 2021 concept video. Still, 55% of Americans don’t know what it is according to a NordVPN survey. And, 87% of those who do, worry about how it may affect their privacy, especially given Facebook’s long history of mass data breaches.
Indiana’s Senate has served up an Ad Targeting bill that, if passed by the state House, would give people the right to opt out of ad targeting. The law would also allow consumers to learn what information is held about them, and to delete and opt-out of select use of that data.
Recommendation systems that lead from site to site by suggesting videos to watch, games to play, helpful information, and people we may want to get to know, are tools that can help children learn. But, as with many systems that target kids, they can be more about vacuuming up sensitive data than helping children. 5Rights Foundation’s case study identifies 9 common features that pose harms for users.
It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying. IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.