The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has provisionally fined Clearview AI £17 million ($22.6 million) alleging it failed to inform UK citizens it was collecting billions of their photos and continuing to process their data. The UK and Australia had opened a joint investigation of Clearview last year, and Australia regulator has also issued a similar ruling.
I saved the best for last: social media isn’t destroying society after all! Ipsos MORI did find that “nuanced” belief in conspiracy theories is more widespread than you ever imagined, which I’ll admit is upsetting. But they also report that TV news and tabloid newspapers are equally responsible for spreading them (at least in the UK). So go ahead and buy all the Facebook ads you want.
The company has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it shared personal information with third parties without user consent. Eligible users fall into two groups: the first are people who paid for a Zoom Meetings app subscription between March 30, 2016 and July 30, 2021; and the second is anyone who downloaded, registered, used or opened the Zoom Meetings App in the same date period.
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.