A federal agency has launched an investigation into how Google, Apple and other tech companies handle data about consumers' purchases.

“Knowing what we spend our money on is a valuable source of data on consumer behavior,” Rohit Chopra, the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stated Thursday. “This data can be monetized by companies that seek to profit from behavioral targeting, particularly around advertising and e-commerce.”

Chopra said he has ordered six tech companies that offer payment platforms -- Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Square, and PayPal -- to provide detailed information about their policies, including how they draw on consumers' data.

Chopra added that there are unanswered questions surrounding how those companies will draw on data about consumers' purchases.

“Will the operators engage in invasive financial surveillance and combine the data they collect on consumers with their geolocation and browsing data?” Chopra asked. “Will they in turn use this data to deepen behavioral advertising, engage in price discrimination, or sell to third parties?”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau added in a statement that the sharing of payment information with data brokers, as well as using payment data for behavioral targeting, “may not align with consumers’ expectations.”

The new investigation comes as Silicon Valley faces increased scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators.
The Federal Trade Commission is currently suing Facebook over alleged antitrust violations, while the Department of Justice and various state attorneys general are pursuing antitrust complaints against Google.

In addition, federal lawmakers have recently introduced numerous bills that could affect tech companies, including ones that would curb web publishers' protections for speech posted by users.

Sixty years since the debut of Fisher-Price’s Chatter Telephone, a rolling toy for toddlers, the Mattel-owned company has tapped into nostalgia to sell a new working version to adults.

“Adults have cherished memories making pretend calls with the Chatter Telephone many years ago,” and the brand “wanted to bring these memories to life in a fully functional way,” a Mattel spokesperson told Marketing Daily.

The limited-edition model, available for $60 only through BestBuy.com, works through a Bluetooth connection from users’ cell phones. Orders are being taken now, with shipments to start late November to early December.

“The past has arrived,” notes a commercial. “Your first mobile phone is now a real mobile phone.”

Fisher-Price’s campaign for the device -- also emphasizing such features as “intuitive interface” and “hands-on technology” -- includes spots during televised opening-week NBA games and online buys onYouTube + Google, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The creative/media agency is Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

Social media buys will also promote posts from influencer partners. 

And Best Buy is supporting the product with placements across its platforms.

The target demo? “Adults who want to go back to a time when making calls was fun and simple,” said the spokesperson.

The toy version of the Chatter Telephone, incidentally, is still being made and going strong, with a list price of $9.99

But why are toddlers still playing with a product whose original purpose of developing skills for rotary phone dialing has long since faded away?

“The Chatter Telephone has stood the test of time because while so much continues to change and evolve rapidly around us, the magic of playtime fun remains the same,” the spokesperson said. “For 60 years kids have loved placing pretend calls -- just like their caregivers -- pulling the wheeled phone around the playroom, and smiling back at its playful wobbly eyes."

Internet service providers are collecting and using data in unexpected and potentially harmful ways, the Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report issued Thursday.

Consumers “would likely be surprised at the extent of data that is collected and combined for purposes unrelated to providing the service they request -- in particular, browsing data, television viewing history, contents of email and search, data from connected devices, location information, and race and ethnicity data,” the agency said in its 76-page report.

“More concerning,” the FTC adds, “this data could be used in a way that’s harmful to consumers, including by property managers, bail bondsmen, bounty hunters, or those who would use it for discriminatory purposes.”

The report marked the culmination of a privacy investigation launched in 2019, when the agency sent detailed questions to six large broadband providers -- AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Charter Communications, Comcast, T-Mobile and Google Fiber.

The report also says two of the broadband providers used consumers' web-browsing activity for advertising, and a “significant” number shared customers' real-time location data with third parties.

“Internet service providers are surveilling users across a broad swath of activities, enabling hyper-granular targeting in the serving of ads and other services,” FTC Chair Lina Khan stated Thursday.

“The individualized and hyper-granular dossiers that internet service providers are collating can enable troubling -- and potentially unlawful -- forms of discrimination,” Khan added.

The report didn't name the carriers currently using web-browsing data for ad targeting.

But AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile disclose in their privacy policies that they may draw on web browsing data for ad targeting. Verizon Wireless seeks users' opt-in consent before enrolling them in an ad-targeting program that draws on web browsing data, but T-Mobile's and AT&T's policies allow the companies to use some web browsing data on an opt-out basis.

The FTC also found that broadband carriers say they allow consumers to control the use of their data, but that in actuality these choices “can be illusory,” due to confusing interfaces and cumbersome procedures.

The FTC has the authority to crack down on companies' deceptive and unfair practices, such as failing to honor privacy promises. But attempts by the agency to issue new privacy regulations could run into significant hurdles.

In 2016, a different agency -- the Federal Communications Commission -- passed privacy rules that would have required carriers to obtain opt-in consent before drawing on subscribers' web-surfing data and app usage history for ad targeting.

The following year, Congress voted to repeal those rules.

The ad industry had opposed those 2016 privacy rules, arguing that requiring broadband providers to obtain users' opt-in consent subjected carriers to tougher standards than search engines, social networking services and other web companies. In general, those companies allow consumers to opt out of receiving targeted ads based on web-browsing activity.

But privacy advocates approved of the FCC's opt-in approach.

They argued that broadband providers should be held to higher privacy standards than other web companies, given that broadband providers have a comprehensive view of people's online activity.

Not only can broadband providers see all unencrypted traffic on the network, but they also can make inferences about users based on encrypted traffic, according to the consultancy Upturn.

The FCC largely lost the ability to regulate privacy practices of broadband providers during the Trump administration, when the agency reclassified broadband as an “information” service.

Should the Biden-era FCC reclassifies broadband as a “telecommunications” service, that agency would again have the authority to police the carriers' privacy practices.

AppsFlyer, the marketing measurement and experience platform, released a biannual Performance Index that ranks the top media sources in mobile advertising.

This index pioneers the SKAN Index, a SKAdNetwork ranking that reflects the new reality of privacy generated by the enforcement of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework.

AppsFlyer’s Performance Index analyzed a total of 623 media sources, 33 billion installs, and more than 17,000 apps. From this, the SKAN Index covered 150 million postbacks from more than 3,000 apps. The data reflects the period between August 1 and September 30, 2021.

The data shows that Apple’s ATT impact on the mobile industry has been substantial.

While Facebook dominated AppsFlyer’s pre-SKAdNetwork iOS rankings, TikTok for Business claimed the number one spot in the first SKAN Index.

Facebook dropped to second, and lost the top spot to Apple Search Ads (ASA) in the Retention Index among consenting users. Google continues to dominate in Android and drive the largest number of installs in app marketing.

TikTok For Business managed to adapt best to SKAdNetwork about six months after Apple’s ATT enforcement -- capturing first place in the power ranking, and reaching fifth place in the volume ranking.

Facebook took the No. 2 spot in the power ranking, losing ground since the enforcement of ATT, but took the No. 1 spot in the volume ranking due to its scale, according to the data.

AppLovin ranked No. 3 in the power and volume rankings. Google Ads came in at No. 4 in the power ranking, and placed No. 2 in the volume ranking.

Google continues to drive the largest number of installs in app marketing. The search giant ranked No. 1 in the Retention Index’s power and volume rankings in all Gaming and non-gaming categories, with the exception of racing games.

Most of its growth came from Gaming, where it increased its share in global app installs by 5% comparing the first half of 2021 to the first half of 2020.

Most of Google’s growth came from Android-dominated countries -- particularly in India, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, according to the data. Its reach with Android remains the reason why it is ranked number two in the In-App Advertising (IAP) Index power ranking with a score slightly lower than Facebook’s.

AppsFlyer also found that among consenting users, Apple Search Ads (ASA) ranked No. 1 in both the Retention Index’s global power and volume rankings.

More iOS marketers flocked to ASA following the enforcement of ATT, with the search ad unit reaching nearly 60% of its traffic from the previous index, which covered the entire second half of 2020 in seven weeks.

ASA is the only media source in iOS that functions independently of SKAdNetwork and deterministically attributes users, the study shows.

ASA’s success was driven by non-gaming apps where it ranked first. It secured the top spot in the Life & Culture group in seven regions--Eastern Europe, Greater China, Japan and Korea, Latin America, Middle East, North America, and Western Europe.

In Gaming, ASA ended up third in the power ranking and fourth in the volume ranking. Its performance in Gaming was largely driven by its first-placed power rankings in the Casual Gaming group in Japan & Korea, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America.

Apple’s search ad also overtook Facebook for global power and volume ranking, driving quality users at scale, with the No. 1 spot in non-gaming and second place result in Gaming.

CM Group, parent to several email brands, has merged with cross-channel engagement platform Cheetah Digital in another instance of martech consolidation. Terms were not disclosed.

The new entity will operate under the CM Group name, and CM Group’s owners -- including Insight Partners -- will hold a majority stake. Cheetah Digital’s majority owner, Vector Capital, will be a substantial minority owner. 

CM Group will expand its main mission from email marketing to overall customer engagement. In addition, the merger will extend the firm’s reach into the large enterprise segment, adding to the nine products it now offers to specific verticals. 

The company will be “well positioned to meet the needs of customers of all sizes and shapes,” says Wellford Dillard, CEO at CM Group.

Cheetah Digital products will continue to be branded as such in line with CM Group’s model of keeping “each CM Group product distinct and focused on specific verticals or market segments,” Dillard notes.

The new CM Group plans significant investments across the portfolio to bring new products to its 70,000+ customers. And it will continue to add “complementary technologies through future business combinations,” while building organic growth, it says.  

CM Group owns the Campaign Monitor, Emma, Vuture, Delivra, Liveclicker, Sailthru, and Selligent brands.  It acquired Selligent, an omnichannel marketing cloud platform based in Brussels, in its fifth purchase in 24 months, last November. 

The firm’s “home for every marketer’ model is a completely unique approach in our industry and in broader martech,” says Peter McCormick, executive chairman at Cheetah Digital.

Cheetah Digital serves such clients as Hilton, Neiman Marcus, Walgreens and Williams-Sonoma. 

Last year, the company debuted Cheetah Personalization, a suite designed to help brands provide  “a value exchange for consumers in the ‘moment’ when you have them on your mobile app, on your site, in your store,” said, Bill Ingram, chief product officer at Cheetah Digital, at the time. 

The CM Group-Cheetah Digital merger follows the news that Sinch is acquiring Pathwire, owner of Mailgun, Mailjet and Email on Acid, for $1.9 billion, that Intuit is buying Mailchimp for $12 billion and that MessageBird acquired SparkPost for $600 million.  

“Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will soon!” claimed Former President Donald Trump this Wednesday in an announcement of his own social media network and social platform, TRUTH Social.

Trump Media & Technology Group aims to “rival the liberal media consortium” -- and, of course, Big Tech.

Since being banned from Twitter in January 2020 over the risk of inciting violence, Trump has spoken about launching his own social media site. He is still suspended from Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

In May, Trump launched “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” an additional section on his existing website, but it was abandoned by early June.

According to a recent tweet by spokesperson Liz Harringto, TRUTH Social will be Trump Media & Technology Group’s first project.

TMTG will list on the Nasdaq through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Group. Harrington said the transaction values TMTG at up to 1.7 billion dollars.

While TRUTH Social was supposedly founded with the “mission to give a voice to all,” Trump quickly stated that he is very excited to begin sharing his thoughts. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced,” Trump said.''

TRUTH Social is currently available for pre-order on the Apple app store and will reportedly begin its beta launch for invited guests sometime in November 2021. A nationwide rollout is planned for the first quarter of 2022 -- the app store reads “Expected Feb 21.”

There has already been news of “TRUTH Social” being hijacked.

Michael Thalen, a tech reporter at Daily Dot, tweeted that he “was just able to set up an account using the handle @donaldtrump on ‘Truth Social’...Although the site is not officially open, a URL was discovered allowing users to sign up anyway.’”

In another tweet, Thalen added: “The public domain for what appeared to be the mobile beta of Trump’s new social media platform ‘Truth Social’ has been taken offline.”

Drew Harwell, a Washington Post tech reporter, tweeted that “anyone can create an account on Trump's social network...using a publicly available link. I literally just registered ‘mikepence.’ The site hasn't even launched yet and it’s already this vulnerable.”

According to the app store, TRUTH Social takes on a “‘Big Tent” approach, a “new way to describe ‘inclusivity’ in America.” It’s a metaphor for the mission statement: “honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology,” suggesting users with varied views can relate and thrive under this new unified platform.

The platform’s structure seems to mimic Twitter. Users will have a profile, and they will use the “TRUTH feed” which features posts from followers with “thumbnail photos, links, and more.” There will be a search feature as well as notifications.

The app store states that “this content may change without notice and the final product may be different.”

The press release also stated that TMTG intends to launch a subscription video-on-demand service (TMTG +) that would feature “non-woke” entertainment programming, news, podcasts, and more. Scott St. John, the executive producer of “Deal Or No Deal” and “America’s Got Talent” has been named leader of TMTG+ corporate operations.

For those who decide to register online to receive emails from TMTG, its terms of service require users to sign away their right to file a class action.

The terms of service seem uncertain about advertising, stating that TMTG may allow advertisers to display sidebar and banner ads. “We simply provide the space to place such advertisements, and we have no other relationship with advertisers.