Jeff Chester
chesterj1.bsky.social
Jeff Chester
@chesterj1.bsky.social
Public interest advocate focused on digital media and online marketing accountability, inc. content diversity, ad practices, antitrust, privacy, journalism and consumer protection
GenAI continues to advance role in commercial surveillance (agentic) marketing worldwide. US policymakers failing to protect public. Introducing shopping research in ChatGPT | OpenAI openai.com/index/chatgp...
Introducing shopping research in ChatGPT
A new shopping experience that helps you find the right products for you.
openai.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Consortium of universities & others need to focus on real & growing risks with GenAI--not just opportunities. They need to sound alarm over the many ways GenAI+BigTech in commercial surveillance era will undermine democracy, consumer protection, more. No law.utexas.edu/ai/ai-opport...
AI Opportunity Inventory
From improving healthcare outcomes and educational access to accelerating energy development and enhancing disaster response, AI presents profound opportunities. Our goal is to make these opportunitie...
law.utexas.edu
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Leaving consumers, families, parents/kids vulnerable to GenAI tactics, while protecting #BIgTech #AI investors, inc. from Trump Adm. They don't want any regulation safeguards as agentic AI impacts your finances, health, privacy & more. www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump Takes Aim at State AI Laws in Draft Executive Order
The draft order, obtained by WIRED, instructs the US Justice Department to sue states that pass laws regulating AI.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Congrats to @thelancet & research team. On #obesity agenda must be total transformation of UPP industry as consequence of digital & Gen AI tech within core of all their operations, including marketing. Unleashing greater capabilities on persuasion, targeting, product development, etc.
Ultra-processed foods – what’s the impact?

In a new Lancet Series, experts warn a global rise in #UPFs presents a growing public health threat.

Read the evidence & policy recommendations ⬇️
spkl.io/63327AduhR
November 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Ballroom Lobby-Blitz Creates New Favor Seeking Opportunities for Lobbyists www.citizen.org/article/ball...
Ballroom Lobby-Blitz Creates New Favor Seeking Opportunities for Lobbyists - Public Citizen
www.citizen.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Ellison @Skydance lobbying blitz as they plan to takeover @warnerbros @CNN after @ParamountPics @CBS & possible #TikTok control too. Via Politico: "first outside lobbying hire...retained Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck" Illustrates why US media reforms must be high on agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 5:49 PM
EU about to trash its digital human rights legacy; even trades see Digital Omnibus as "not just a tune-up — it is a broad re-opening of Europe’s privacy framework...[will] Accelerate AI-driven optimization and targeting...more processing could occur without explicit consent." bit.ly/4pfJZou
Ad Tech Briefing: Digital Omnibus is about to land — here’s what it means for GDPR, and the future of ad targeting
Europe's Digital Omnibus could redefine data rules — and shift power in digital advertising.
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Meta ruling underscores # of issues. Regulators have been behind the ball analyzing digital marketing system. We need to push for strong data protection & GenAI use policies; bring antitrust to partnerships/alliances inc omnichannel; better enforce consumer protection online. bit.ly/4oQ7hBM
www.reuters.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM
GenAI investments to fuel global commercial surveillance marketing economy. Google, Meta, Amazon. Financial, privacy, consumer risks while US gov't enables.
Amazon to raise $15 billion in first US bond sale in three years to fund AI push www.reuters.com/business/ret...
www.reuters.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Making US unsafe from GenAI. "House R leaders are searching for a legislative vehicle they could attach language to that would effectively ban state regulation of AI...debating is the annual defense policy bill...the National Defense Authorization Act."
punchbowl.news/article/tech...
House eyeing AI preemption in NDAA, Scalise says
House Republican leaders are searching for a legislative vehicle they could attach language to that would effectively ban state regulation of artificial intelligence.
punchbowl.news
November 18, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Bravo and thank you US Pirg

mashable.com/article/chat...
The ChatGPT-powered teddy bear is officially on ice
Probably for the best.
mashable.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
AI and Text-based scams report via Georgetown Law. US consumers will be victims of unleashed GenAI tactics since federal regulators have been put in deep freeze. www.law.georgetown.edu/tech-institu...
Tech Brief: Text-Based Scams & AI
www.law.georgetown.edu
November 18, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Commercial surveillance marketing rapid expansion via agentic GenAI commerce tech with real-time bidding. Privacy, consumer, antitrust alarms should be ringing--worldwide. s3.amazonaws.com/media.mediap...
s3.amazonaws.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Important tell MSNOW/MSNBC viewers real reasons for change, inc. new corp. ownership structure to distance from Comcast/NBCU for political/financial reasons; MSNOW & other Versant properties could be eventually sold (and there are new financial pressures to make $). Real changes.
@maddow.msnbc.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
TACD warns: The European Commission’s Digital Omnibus reform could weaken major EU digital protections. Civil society groups in the United States and in Europe call on the Commission to halt these changes. bit.ly/4i9uGf2
Streamlining or deregulation? TACD sounds alarm on EU Digital Omnibus
News
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Your privacy further threatened--& this is tip of GenAI digital data iceberg. What is Trump FTC doing? "Google Accused in Suit of Using Gemini AI Tool to Snoop on Users"
bit.ly/3LJEXlO
Google Accused in Suit of Using Gemini AI Tool to Snoop on Users
Google was accused in a lawsuit of using its Gemini AI assistant to unlawfully track the private communications of users of its Gmail, instant messaging and videoconference programs.
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Via Google: "our agent is built to sell. Its intelligent intent classifier understands how your customers are shopping and tailors their experience...Guide them with personalized, conversational search that inspires them to find—and buy...Drive revenue with natural conversation..."
bit.ly/49RYx9v
November 13, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Call My Agentic! With a slew of consumer, financial, health, privacy Gen AI tech threats, will Congress call out the growing problems of unregulated agentic commerce? Let's see if lawmakers know what's really going on. energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chairm...
Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce Announce Oversight and Investigations Hearing on the Safety of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing com...
energycommerce.house.gov
November 13, 2025 at 6:47 PM
“They Took My Mom. Then They Took My Dad and Uncle,” Oxnard ICE Raids Through The Eyes of 16-Year-Old Boy lataco.com/oxnard-ice-r...
“They Took My Mom. Then They Took My Dad and Uncle,” Oxnard ICE Raids Through The Eyes of 16-Year-Old Boy ~ L.A. TACO
A high school student and budding mariachi recounts the damage done to his family by two separate immigration raids, four months apart, detailing the lasting trauma federal enforcement is leaving on b...
lataco.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:41 PM
One of the greatest risks with GenAI is its already core role in commercial surveillance marketing, threatening consumers, privacy, health, for ex. Growing platform & GenAI tech partnerships part of this emerging system. US regulators--#FTC--failing. Here's one recent alliance: bit.ly/47QudJQ
Snap and Perplexity Partner to Bring Conversational AI Search to Snapchat
Partnership expands AI offerings available to the Snapchat community and marks the first large-scale integration of an external AI partner directly into the app. Today Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) and Perpl...
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 6:08 PM
“Trumpism is not withering—it is putting down firm roots in the military, in the media, in the justice system, in civil society, and in the legislative branch. A democracy that plays dead will soon be dead for real.” www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
The Lingering Delusion | Fintan O’Toole
Kamala Harris’s memoir 107 Days succeeds at least in distilling the evasions and weaknesses of the modern Democratic Party.
www.nybooks.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Perplexity vs Amazon battle over agentic AI commerce illustrates how public will ultimately be surrendering more data, autonomy, influence to commercial surveillance AI operations giants. That's why regulations needed asap. " www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/bul...
Bullying is Not Innovation
The point of technology is to make life better for people. We call it innovation, but it’s just the constant process of asking how to make things better. Bullying, on the other hand, is when large cor...
www.perplexity.ai
November 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Why is the EU undermining human rights & privacy for its citizens & public worldwide via its "Digital Omnibus" plans? Bending knee to #BigTech #GenAI co's. Violating EU principles to make a "deal." @HennaVirkkunen @EUCssrMcGrath noyb.eu/en/eu-commis...
EU Commission about to wreck core principles of the GDPR
The EU Commission has secretly set in motion a potentially massive reform of the GDPR. noybs first overview of the proposed changes.
noyb.eu
November 11, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Unconstrained by any policy safeguards, GenAI will user in more powerful commercial surveillance marketing, impacting consumers/citizens, finances, health, privacy, more. More powerful #BigTech too.
ChatGPT ads are coming – and they won’t look like Google Ads searchengineland.com/chatgpt-ads-...
ChatGPT ads are coming – and they won’t look like Google Ads
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Google’s ad model profits when search fails – and vows ChatGPT will take a different approach to ads and commerce.
searchengineland.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM