Bipartisan legislation being considered in Congress could force Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook to either shed private-label assets or effectively split in two in an attempt to regulate them, the WSJ said. Congress is also looking at limiting their ability to use their platforms to improperly direct consumers toward their own offerings.
Apple’s launch of iOS 14.5, featuring its new privacy protections, has been championed by iPhone users tired of invasive ads, while advertisers frantically adapt to the changes, especially small businesses that rely on targeted ads. While challenging to advertisers, privacy is an important issue. Five weeks in, here are some key learnings.
Much to Facebook’s dismay, Apple’s planned privacy update to iOS 14 will prompt users to choose whether to allow Facebook to track their phone activity to provide personalized ads. This has left Facebook and Apple bickering like two siblings fighting over who rides in the front seat. Here are the implications for email marketing.
Global Privacy Control focuses on letting consumers opt out of the sale of their personal data to third parties. The early-stage coalition includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Mozilla. Rob Shavell, CEO of Abine, who was involved in Do Not Track and now GPC, discusses what’s ahead and why merchants should get on board.
The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by attorneys general from 11 states, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google alleging it used its market power to thwart competition in search and advertising, setting up a battle on the level of the 1990s federal action against Microsoft.
Moving forward, one thing is certain: Marketplace facilitator laws will continue to evolve. We’re already seeing some changes in the U.S., with Louisiana going after high-volume 3P sellers during COVID-19. But states are also going to great lengths to pursue lodging and communications platforms and even food delivery services.
The National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers are asking the Trump administration and the federal government for relief for members who are being hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, much as are other industries such as airlines and hospitality, as mall, store and restaurant closures grow.
Amazon’s latest expansion into the consumer biosphere will enable brick-and-mortar shoppers to pay for purchases with a mere wave – or scan – of their hand. The Wall Street Journal said Amazon is creating a system of hand-scanning terminals for retailers, with a focus on venues like coffee shops with lots of return customers.
Extend, a provider of extended warranty programs, has raised $16.4 million in new capital and acquired assets from Aon division Affinity Insurance Services as it looks to make warranty programs available beyond enterprise-scale retailers. The company said current clients have combined annual sales of more than $11.5 billion.
Investigators from the FTC have begun interviewing merchants selling on Amazon’s third-party marketplace in an attempt to ascertain if the ecommerce giant is using anti-competitive practices, according to a report in Bloomberg. They’re asking merchants how much business they do on Amazon.com vs. other major marketplaces.