MadTech Daily: FTC Sues Amazon Over Alleged Ad-Price Manipulation; Brussels Puts ChatGPT in the Same Bracket as Google

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at John Lewis betting on a YouTube chat show to get noticed by AI, The Trade Desk exiting the S&P 500 on the same day mass layoffs take effect, and Chinese AI developers turning to Tmall to sell subscriptions alongside smartphones and skincare.

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss The Trade Desk laying off 15% of its workforce as its CEO frames the cuts as a strategic reset, VodafoneThree launching a TV service and premium mobile tier in a UK market push, and DAZN Media+ unveiling an AI-powered Sales Agent to streamline video ad buying.

In this episode of The MadTech Podcast, Brian Yamada, chief innovation officer at VML, joins ExchangeWire CEO Rachel Smith and Grainne Reid, head of marketing, to discuss Meta's child safety settlement, California vs. Paramount, and OpenAI's ad business.The first story this week is Meta's $18bn settlement over claims that its social media platforms harmed children. The conversation explores if we will finally start to see a change in online safety standards, and how this might affect things from a product and user perspective. The second covers California's lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, and how much leverage the state holds in this case.Finally, OpenAI's ad business has hit $1bn in annualised revenue run rate. What does ChatGPT Ads' success mean for advertisers and consumers, and does this justify OpenAI's $852bn valuation?•••0:00 Get your tickets to ATS London!0:25 Introduction1:15 Meta agrees to $18bn child safety settlement12:35 California cancels talks with Paramount over Warner Bros deal19:23 OpenAI’s ad business hits $1bn annualised revenue run rate

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at DOJ losing bid to break up Google’s ad tech business, Havas naming Patrick Affleck to lead its newly unified UK & Ireland Village, and the EU court rejecting Opera’s challenge over Microsoft Edge’s DMA exemption.

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Bailey flagging the risk of an AI slowdown for global markets, OpenAI denying Apple’s trade secret theft claims and calling the lawsuit “a mess of Apple’s own making,” and Anthropic signing a USD$35bn cloud deal with Nvidia-backed Lambda for a Texas data center. 

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss the FTC and states suing Amazon over alleged ad-price manipulation, Brussels putting ChatGPT in the same bracket as Google and ushering in tougher rules, and Australia’s digital ad spend hitting a four-year high, climbing 14% to AUD$19.8bn (£10.45bn).

In this episode of The MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire CEO Rachel Smith and COO Lindsay Rowntree join John Still, head of content, to discuss WPP vs. Richard Foster, Apple's app data consent rules, and YouTube's new monetisation bar.The first story this week covers WPP moving to seal parts of Richard Foster's amended wrongful termination lawsuit, and what this case means for agency practices. The second is Apple revising its app data consent rules after regulators found its App Tracking Transparency framework violated competition law. The team discuss if this move will make a difference with regards to user data and privacy, or truly benefit third-party app developers within Apple's ecosystem.Finally, YouTube will significantly raise its monetisation thresholds for new creators, while also changing the way it counts public video views. Are these changes keeping pace with the platform's scale? And how might this affect its creator ecosystem going forward?*Creators already enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program will not be affected – we mistakenly said that this would push existing creators out of the monetisation window. The dialogue instead highlights how many existing creator channels the new thresholds theoretically could affect, as a wider point about how steep the bar to entry has become for the creator economy, even for those that would otherwise look established enough to expect a straightforward path to monetisation.•••0:00 Get your tickets to ATS London!0:43 Introduction1:50 WPP escalates legal fight with Richard Foster15:49 Apple to revise app data consent rules26:19 YouTube raises threshold for new creators; changes how it counts views34:05 Weekly Quiz: Which British celebrity recently advised people to delete TikTok?35:48 Happy US National Dog Day!

In today’s MadTech Daily, we look at The Trade Desk’s leaked deck revealing its agentic AI plans, Nine cutting the value of its television business, and OpenAI bringing shopping to the ChatGPT sidebar.

In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Meta agreeing to pay up to USD$18bn (£13.5bn) and restrict teen access under a sweeping state settlement, X revamping its creator pay with a new rewards program, and MiniMax posting a 283% revenue surge, though its pace still trails full-year targets.