Apr 24, 2015 | Facebook marketing, Regulation
Facebook’s free internet initiative Internet.org has been officially launched in Indonesia, despite coming under criticism for threatening ‘net neutrality’ in India earlier this month. Indonesia has a population of 250 million, but only approximately 72 million...
Apr 23, 2015 | Online advertising, Regulation
In a blow to publishers and advertisers (and a victory for consumers) a German court in Hamburg has ruled that the practice of blocking advertising is legitimate. The decision comes after a four-month trial where Germany-based Eyeo, the company that owns Adblock Plus,...
Apr 16, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Regulation, Search engine marketing
The European Union has filed a complaint against Google over its alleged anti-competitive behaviour, targeting its shopping search which is pitched as a “matchmaker” between products and customers. The competition commissioner said she had issued a...
Apr 16, 2015 | Mobile, Online video, Regulation, Twitter marketing
Broadcaster HBO has sent ‘take down’ notices to Periscope, the live-streaming video app owned by Twitter, after users of the app broadcast episodes of the hit show Games of Thrones on Sunday night. Twitter maintains that the Periscope app complies with US copyright...
Apr 16, 2015 | Online advertising, Regulation
Many big brands ads from the likes of British Gas, Marks & Spencer, Cillit Bang and O2 are appearing on inappropriate websites, according to a news report this week. The Sun newspaper ran a full page editorial this week under the banner of “SUN INVESTIGATES...
Apr 15, 2015 | Regulation
Eighty percent of online crime is not reported to the authorities, with digital police practices ‘severely hampered’ and requiring ‘a fundamental change in mindset’, according to City of London Police commissioner Adrian Leppard. In a new report, the police group,...
Apr 14, 2015 | Regulation
The price of new .sucks domains is to be investigated amid claims that brands and celebrities could be exploited. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (Icann) has asked the US and Canadian trade authorities to investigate Vox Populi, which secured...
Apr 14, 2015 | Facebook marketing, Regulation, Social media
Facebook has admitted that it is tracking non-users, often referred to as ‘shadow profiles’, but denies claims it breaches EU privacy law. A report published last week by Belgian academics alleged that Facebook had been secretly installing tracking cookies on users’...
Apr 13, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Regulation
Amazon has sued four firms that pay people to produce reviews that then appear on the online retailer’s site. The move marks the first time in its 20 year history that the online retailer is taking legal action against businesses it claims sells fake reviews to...
Apr 8, 2015 | Facebook marketing, Regulation, Social media
Facebook has been accused of building a giant database of biometric information on people’s faces against their will, in court documents filed against the firm in the US. Filed on April 1, the class action suit lodged by the Edelson law firm on behalf of...
Apr 8, 2015 | Online advertising, Online video, Regulation
US consumer watchdog groups have accused Google of blurring the line between ads and original content in its YouTube Kids app. The coalition of consumer and child advocacy groups is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google’s YouTube Kids app,...
Mar 30, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Regulation
With the cost of online orders lost to fraud as £2.92billion1, retailers’ fraud prevention systems could be costing them even more in lost business by failing to recognise genuine customers, a new report by ThreatMetrix warns. The ‘Are You Treating Your Customers Like...
Mar 26, 2015 | Regulation
Top digital firms including Facebook and Google are facing scrutiny over how they handle data as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) looks to investigate whether data agreements between the EU and US protect European privacy. The case was prompted by a complaint from...
Mar 25, 2015 | Regulation
An influx of new domain names are going on sale in June, including the potentially harmful .suck domain… and businesses are urged to make informed decisions about how to protect themselves. In less than three months, the general public will be able to buy a...
Mar 20, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Regulation
Amazon has been awarded an experimental airworthiness certificate to use drones, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The approval will allow the company to conduct research, development and crew training for deliveries called Amazon Prime Air. Under...
Mar 20, 2015 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Regulation
Target has agreed to pay out a total of $10m (£6.74m) to people affected by a data breach in 2013, according to reports. Each claimant will get up to $10,000 in damages under the proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit, pending court approval. Target has said at...
Mar 17, 2015 | Facebook marketing, Regulation, Social media
Facebook has updated its Community Standards page, explaining in detail what’s acceptable to share on the social network, including clarifications on nudity, hate speech, bullying and harassment. At 2,500 words the new Community Standards are significantly...
Mar 12, 2015 | Online video, Regulation
David Cameron and Ed Miliband have been considering a proposal to join a live internet ‘digital debate’ hosted on YouTube ahead of the general election campaign. A consortium of the Guardian, the Telegraph and YouTube is offering to act as a platform for a...
Mar 11, 2015 | China, Regulation, Social media, Twitter marketing
Twitter has opened an office in Hong Kong, despite the social network being banned in mainland China, meaning its content and ads won’t reach most of the country’s population. Facebook, which is also banned in China, has employed a similar method of increasing revenue...
Mar 9, 2015 | Facebook marketing, France, Regulation
A Facebook user that was banned from the social network for posting an image of an explicit 19th century painting has been able to get his legal complaint handled in France- despite Facebook being a US company. The ruling was made after Frédéric Durand-Baissas, a...
