Content Aware media news: September 29, 2022

Google ads under attack, Getty's AI ban, and a vigilante baker - all in this week's Content Aware media news highlights.

Published: 09:32, 30 September 2022

Last updated: 09:33, 04 October 2022

Google ad business under attack from all sides
Great piece that looks at the various insight gathered by investigators and legislators worldwide which will be used to try and dismantle Google's adtech dominance, in the US and farther afield.
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And the winner is...
It was a great honour to have been invited to speak at and be a part of the recent Future of Media Technology Conference and Awards in London - a big thanks to them and to our speaker Andy Macharg of Hello/!Hola! who talked a rapt audience through the publishing giant's plans for rapid business growth. The evening turned towards handing out the gongs for outstanding work in publishing this year, and it was our pleasure to be able to announce that the judges chose the excellent InkCap Journal as Newsletter of the Year- a weekly roundup of nature and conservation news from across Britain which is turning subscribers into paying members at an impressive rate. It's stewarded by editor Sophie Yeo who deserves massive congratulations to win in a field which included some of the biggest names in the business.
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Getty Images bans AI-generated art over copyright concerns
Worried about the eventual copyright storm that's bound to blow up over AI-generated images? So is image giant Getty Images, which has preemptively banned any use of the tech or its creations in its libraries and offerings to customers - saving you from worries you might stumble into some unexpected IP claims in the future via supplied imagery.
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Preventing d-AI-light robbery?
The tech to advancing AI imagery will continue to improve and become more widespread at a blistering pace. However, not for the first time, following closely behind the new tech are concerns of how it will be used. This piece sees how some are trying to provide some early protection for those who own, or are featured in, the image datasets being used by the machine.
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A valiant baker trying to stop the tide of online 'fun' that can poison or kill
Have you ever tried any of the 'fun' YouTube '5-minute easy hacks'-style content? We don't recommend it, given that some of it is not just silly but is in fact dangerous (bleached strawberries, anyone?). Here's the tale of one who is trying to get it under control. It's all fun and games until someone dies trying to replicate the nonsensical hacks, which has happened.
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Beware watering down the Safety Bill over speech fears, say backers
Speaking of harmful online content (and in our example mentioned above, it was a child who died), several former UK Culture Secretaries have expressed concern that the under-scrutiny Online Safety Bill - a proposed UK Government Act to make social platforms responsible for blocking online content which might be harmful to children and other vulnerable groups - should not be stalled or neutered over free speech concerns.
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Facebook on the look-out for state-backed fake news
One of the valid points social platforms raise about such proposals as the Online Safety Bill, is quite how they are supposed to monitor everything that's actually on their platforms. It's a fair point. Here is some insight though into what monitoring can reveal, in a report tucked away disappointingly deep on its site by Facebook, about Russian- and Chinese-backed strategic fake news, aka 'CIB' - Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior. PDF download.
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The unexpected gem of a major story that walks itself to your desk...
In newspaper parlance, walk-ins are literally where people come to the office and reveal a potentially massive scoop in person. Or it could be a photo they took of a deity they saw on a slice of toast that morning. UKPG's Alex Morrison recounts his memories of one of the stalwarts of local news.
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The murky world of phantom podcast listeners
How long counts as a listen before you count a listener as a listener? How about 0.1s or so? This piece looks at a questionable technique being used by some podcasters to gain listeners - many of whom seem to have bionic ears and ability to warp time.
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Anyway, is podcasting the new radio?
We all know podcasting is growing, but has it passed its hypergrowth phase to now settle into the fabric of people's lives?
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