Facebook is making moves to ensure brands continue spending their ad dollars on its platforms.
The company announced on Wednesday new ways to help marketers have better control of their ads and where they appear on its services. Part of the updates includes testing "publisher white lists," which will allow brands to select which accounts that their ads are approved to run on.
It also includes centralized ways to create publisher blocklists, set ad inventory filters, and get reports. Facebook is also partnering with video advertising company Zefr to help ensure ad campaigns run in the right areas.
This year marks the first year advertisers will spend more on digital ads than traditional media, according to eMarketer. It also marks the first time the duopoly — Google and Facebook — will see their share of the digital advertising pie decline.
Facebook ($FB) will still be a digital advertising leader for the foreseeable future, with 2.8 billion monthly users across its family of apps as of October. But other companies like Amazon are growing their advertising revenue rapidly. Meanwhile, Facebook has reported under 30 percent revenue growth during its last three earnings reports.
Brand safety, concerning what kind of content that ads are running adjacent to, has become an increasing issue for advertisers. Some companies choose not to advertise on Facebook's in-app mobile advertising Audience Network because of worries about where their marketing will appear, WPP agency Essence told Ad Age.
Facebook has more than 35,000 people working on safety and security, which includes removing billions of fake accounts annually. But the company has been under scrutiny recently for allowing misinformation and other fake news in politicians' ads, something which would clearly be a concern for many advertisers, should their ads appear alongside the content. The platform has argued users should decide what is correct and incorrect and that blocking content would curtail newsworthy items. However, critics have said false narratives can influence voters and undermine democracy.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
