The Monopoly Report
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
Marketecture's in-depth coverage of Google and big tech's antitrust and regulatory woes and how that impacts the ads space.
Newsletter at: https://monopoly.marketecture.tv/
Pod at: https://www.monopolyreportpod.com/
Newsletter at: https://monopoly.marketecture.tv/
Pod at: https://www.monopolyreportpod.com/
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
If you want to better understand WHY digital media is in this state, take a look at the period from 2004 to 2013 --- from Google's IPO to its acquisitions of DLCK, Admeld & Invite to the intitial antitrust investigation by the FTC that didn't bear fruit.
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-49-p...
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-49-p...
Episode 49: Part 1 - Jon Leibowitz and the FTC's role during the early Google Era
Host Alan Chapell is joined by Jon Leibowitz, former chair of the FTC to discuss the Commission's impact on the digital media landscape from 2004 until 2013. In par…
www.monopolyreportpod.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
If you want to better understand WHY digital media is in this state, take a look at the period from 2004 to 2013 --- from Google's IPO to its acquisitions of DLCK, Admeld & Invite to the intitial antitrust investigation by the FTC that didn't bear fruit.
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-49-p...
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-49-p...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
One of my favorite guests, @megangray.bsky.social shares her take on the DOJ v Google remedies trial on this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social podcast. This is an entertaining primer if you're looking to get up to speed before Judge Mehta's decision in the next few weeks. tinyurl.com/9p7xmebx
Epispde 39: The Google Search Antitrust Remedies
Megan Gray joins host Alan Chapell for a discussion of the various remedies being proposed in the Google Search Antitrust Trial with the DOJ as we head towards Judg…
www.monopolyreportpod.com
July 23, 2025 at 11:17 AM
One of my favorite guests, @megangray.bsky.social shares her take on the DOJ v Google remedies trial on this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social podcast. This is an entertaining primer if you're looking to get up to speed before Judge Mehta's decision in the next few weeks. tinyurl.com/9p7xmebx
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
ad tech has moved through several audience creation eras: (1) behavioral targeting, (2) onboarding / DMP, (3) data science.
As of today, MOST of the talk about the next era - AI audience creation - is just that.... talk.
I'd love it if someone could change my mind.
tinyurl.com/63xckv88
As of today, MOST of the talk about the next era - AI audience creation - is just that.... talk.
I'd love it if someone could change my mind.
tinyurl.com/63xckv88
Is AI friend or foe to audience creation?
OR is AI simply masking the underlying problems in the ads space?
tinyurl.com
July 23, 2025 at 11:32 AM
ad tech has moved through several audience creation eras: (1) behavioral targeting, (2) onboarding / DMP, (3) data science.
As of today, MOST of the talk about the next era - AI audience creation - is just that.... talk.
I'd love it if someone could change my mind.
tinyurl.com/63xckv88
As of today, MOST of the talk about the next era - AI audience creation - is just that.... talk.
I'd love it if someone could change my mind.
tinyurl.com/63xckv88
This week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social podcast is a must-listen if you're trying to understand the ads regulatory space. Sam Levine and I go deep into the history of the FTC - and we make some predictions on how things will shake out.
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-37-r...
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-37-r...
Episode 37: Rescuing Privacy and Consumer Protection w/ Samuel Levine
Former Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC Samuel AA Levin joins Alan Chapell to discuss a recent law review article he co-authored, how privac…
www.monopolyreportpod.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social podcast is a must-listen if you're trying to understand the ads regulatory space. Sam Levine and I go deep into the history of the FTC - and we make some predictions on how things will shake out.
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-37-r...
www.monopolyreportpod.com/episode-37-r...
Here are my favorite "under-covered" regulatory stories / trends as they apply to the ad space. What did I miss? Check out this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social at monopoly-report.com/p/2025-mid-y...
2025 mid-year review
Quick regulatory brain dump before heading off to the beach
monopoly-report.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Here are my favorite "under-covered" regulatory stories / trends as they apply to the ad space. What did I miss? Check out this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social at monopoly-report.com/p/2025-mid-y...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
Google had a run-in with the Texas AG's office. It didn't end well. I share my take on the back story as I look for clues to how this might impact the separate state antitrust trial (led by Texas) later this summer.
monopoly-report.com/p/google-s-b...
monopoly-report.com/p/google-s-b...
Google's Billion Dollar Texan Adventure
Is this tussle with the TX AG a preview of the Texas-led state antitrust trial?
monopoly-report.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Google had a run-in with the Texas AG's office. It didn't end well. I share my take on the back story as I look for clues to how this might impact the separate state antitrust trial (led by Texas) later this summer.
monopoly-report.com/p/google-s-b...
monopoly-report.com/p/google-s-b...
Did @perplexityai.bsky.social CEO Aravind Srinivas misspeak when he talked about his plans to monetize the COMET browser by vacuuming up browsing data? Or is Mr. Srinivas simply preaching the new normal in tech - privacy and IP be damned. monopoly-report.com/p/perplexity...
Perplexity: Browsers as TrackWare
Is COMET re-inventing the Internet Browser?
monopoly-report.com
May 1, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Did @perplexityai.bsky.social CEO Aravind Srinivas misspeak when he talked about his plans to monetize the COMET browser by vacuuming up browsing data? Or is Mr. Srinivas simply preaching the new normal in tech - privacy and IP be damned. monopoly-report.com/p/perplexity...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
Google's Cookie announcement, implications for the remedies phase of G's adtech antitrust trial, and a Lance Armstrong metaphor. This week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social newsletter. monopoly-report.com/p/remedies-t...
Remedies to Google's ad tech Monopoly
Many of the solutions being suggested are unworkable - here's the least bad option
monopoly-report.com
April 23, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Google's Cookie announcement, implications for the remedies phase of G's adtech antitrust trial, and a Lance Armstrong metaphor. This week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social newsletter. monopoly-report.com/p/remedies-t...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
Claiming that a building is now uninhabitable when you’re the one who set fire to it is certainly a choice. Google to publishers: Drop Dead. This week on the
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly-report.com/p/google-to-...
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly-report.com/p/google-to-...
Google to News Publishers: Drop Dead
Google's latest experiment is mostly a negotiation tactic, but it underscores just how powerful Google has become.
monopoly-report.com
April 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Claiming that a building is now uninhabitable when you’re the one who set fire to it is certainly a choice. Google to publishers: Drop Dead. This week on the
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly-report.com/p/google-to-...
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly-report.com/p/google-to-...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
On this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social newsletter, I use a cartoon that nobody under 40 has heard of to draw an analogy about GDPR reform... and suggest a few reforms of my own. monopoly-report.com/p/so-they-wa...
So they wanna reform the GDPR?
Not since Martin Luther has Europe come up with such an intriguing yet polarizing set of ideas
monopoly-report.com
March 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
On this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social newsletter, I use a cartoon that nobody under 40 has heard of to draw an analogy about GDPR reform... and suggest a few reforms of my own. monopoly-report.com/p/so-they-wa...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
WTF happened to measurement?
"If you’re creating some new platform chock full of privacy enhancing tech that fixes all privacy or other societal ills...
In my view: if I can’t measure it - and can’t audit it so that I know what’s going on beneath the hood, it shouldn’t exist.
"If you’re creating some new platform chock full of privacy enhancing tech that fixes all privacy or other societal ills...
In my view: if I can’t measure it - and can’t audit it so that I know what’s going on beneath the hood, it shouldn’t exist.
WTF happened to measurement?
New Rule: Every new ad platform going forward should allow for independent audits.
monopoly-report.com
March 12, 2025 at 1:28 PM
WTF happened to measurement?
"If you’re creating some new platform chock full of privacy enhancing tech that fixes all privacy or other societal ills...
In my view: if I can’t measure it - and can’t audit it so that I know what’s going on beneath the hood, it shouldn’t exist.
"If you’re creating some new platform chock full of privacy enhancing tech that fixes all privacy or other societal ills...
In my view: if I can’t measure it - and can’t audit it so that I know what’s going on beneath the hood, it shouldn’t exist.
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
The Internet don't take kindly to broken promises. It’s not so much that @mozilla.org has broken a privacy promise. Rather, this change is a direct function of a drastic shift in both the regulatory and business environment. Check out this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social at tinyurl.com/24e7z8y4
Big changes afoot at Mozilla
Regulatory changes mean that browser monetization is no longer a walk in the park.
monopoly-report.com
March 5, 2025 at 2:16 PM
The Internet don't take kindly to broken promises. It’s not so much that @mozilla.org has broken a privacy promise. Rather, this change is a direct function of a drastic shift in both the regulatory and business environment. Check out this week's @monopolyreport.bsky.social at tinyurl.com/24e7z8y4
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
This week on @monopolyreport.bsky.social , I write about Europe's attempt to address the anti-competitive impact of Apple's App Tracking Transparency using the TV show "Horace and Pete" as a metaphor for any number of shady things taking place in the ads space. monopoly-report.com/p/apple-s-ho...
February 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
This week on @monopolyreport.bsky.social , I write about Europe's attempt to address the anti-competitive impact of Apple's App Tracking Transparency using the TV show "Horace and Pete" as a metaphor for any number of shady things taking place in the ads space. monopoly-report.com/p/apple-s-ho...
On this week's @monopoly_report, I explain that the digital ads space could use a shift in our collective mindset if we want to reach the next level of maturity. We need to move away from "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" to "if you see something, say something".
February 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
On this week's @monopoly_report, I explain that the digital ads space could use a shift in our collective mindset if we want to reach the next level of maturity. We need to move away from "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" to "if you see something, say something".
Lot's of debate about the def of personal data around the world. This @monopolyreport.bsky.social article analyzes the impact of expanding that definition on data driven advertising. monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/personal-d...
Personal Data & Schrödinger's big red dog
Expanding definitions of personal data ruin de-identification
monopoly.marketecture.tv
February 12, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Lot's of debate about the def of personal data around the world. This @monopolyreport.bsky.social article analyzes the impact of expanding that definition on data driven advertising. monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/personal-d...
Google Chrome choice prompts are merely a distraction and why the Competition and Markets Authority still needs to require that Google address the underlying competition concerns around TPC deprecation (albeit deprecation via choice prompt)
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-c...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-c...
Google's Choice Screen Distraction
Moving the discussion to choice prompts does not change the underlying competition concerns
monopoly.marketecture.tv
February 5, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Google Chrome choice prompts are merely a distraction and why the Competition and Markets Authority still needs to require that Google address the underlying competition concerns around TPC deprecation (albeit deprecation via choice prompt)
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-c...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-c...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
If the ICO had its way,
this practice called Consent or Pay,
Ethical: yay or nay…
Ask again another day.
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/uk-ico-and...
this practice called Consent or Pay,
Ethical: yay or nay…
Ask again another day.
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/uk-ico-and...
UK ICO and Europe's mad affair with consent
The latest cookie guidance from the United Kingdom
monopoly.marketecture.tv
January 29, 2025 at 1:38 PM
If the ICO had its way,
this practice called Consent or Pay,
Ethical: yay or nay…
Ask again another day.
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/uk-ico-and...
this practice called Consent or Pay,
Ethical: yay or nay…
Ask again another day.
@monopolyreport.bsky.social
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/uk-ico-and...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
@monopolyreport.bsky.social NL: (1) TikTok is James Bond (2) Oracle is either being really foolish or has received assurances that this will pay off bigly (Stargate?), (3) The "National Security Card" might be the big loser in all this (followed by EU to U.S. data transfers) tinyurl.com/52bzdc4a
The Fall and Rise of TikTok
How the nouveau rule of law may impact the world of ads
tinyurl.com
January 22, 2025 at 1:44 PM
@monopolyreport.bsky.social NL: (1) TikTok is James Bond (2) Oracle is either being really foolish or has received assurances that this will pay off bigly (Stargate?), (3) The "National Security Card" might be the big loser in all this (followed by EU to U.S. data transfers) tinyurl.com/52bzdc4a
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
I interrupt today's TikTok coverage with some music. Sometimes people get married very young - and to the wrong person. It kind of spoils them to the institution of marriage going forward. This is a song about someone who fell in love again after leaving a loveless marriage.... 1/3
January 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I interrupt today's TikTok coverage with some music. Sometimes people get married very young - and to the wrong person. It kind of spoils them to the institution of marriage going forward. This is a song about someone who fell in love again after leaving a loveless marriage.... 1/3
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
My thoughts on Net Neutrality in the ads space: "If we’re going to have a debate about gatekeepers imposing theoretical tolls on the highway, it seems reasonable for the debate to include a discussion of the actual tolls we currently have to navigate."
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/net-neutra...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/net-neutra...
Net Neutrality & Control of the Ads Business
From a series of tubes to a series of false choices
monopoly.marketecture.tv
January 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
My thoughts on Net Neutrality in the ads space: "If we’re going to have a debate about gatekeepers imposing theoretical tolls on the highway, it seems reasonable for the debate to include a discussion of the actual tolls we currently have to navigate."
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/net-neutra...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/net-neutra...
"Announcing a policy that nobody else is allowed to do the very thing that you just got caught doing is peak Google." Here's @marketecture.tv's take on Google's recent change to its fingerprinting policy.
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-q...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-q...
Google's quiet CTV Play
The policy shift on fingerprinting has less to do with privacy
monopoly.marketecture.tv
January 8, 2025 at 3:51 PM
"Announcing a policy that nobody else is allowed to do the very thing that you just got caught doing is peak Google." Here's @marketecture.tv's take on Google's recent change to its fingerprinting policy.
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-q...
monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/google-s-q...
What does the data driven ads space have in common with J Edgar Hoover? Read this week's TMR newsletter to find out. tinyurl.com/227wd24r
Ads, Websites and Wiretaps
How 1960's laws could eventually swallow ad tech
tinyurl.com
December 18, 2024 at 2:00 PM
What does the data driven ads space have in common with J Edgar Hoover? Read this week's TMR newsletter to find out. tinyurl.com/227wd24r
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
This week's Monopoly Report analyzes the potential homes for Chrome browser in the event that the DOJ is able to force a sale. You should read to the bottom to see what the FTC is saying about data collected via RTB auctions. Lina Kahn has left a time bomb. monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/the-parado...
The Paradox of a Forced Sale of Chrome
Is a forced sale of Chrome by DOJ a remotely viable option?
monopoly.marketecture.tv
December 4, 2024 at 1:22 PM
This week's Monopoly Report analyzes the potential homes for Chrome browser in the event that the DOJ is able to force a sale. You should read to the bottom to see what the FTC is saying about data collected via RTB auctions. Lina Kahn has left a time bomb. monopoly.marketecture.tv/p/the-parado...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
Genuinely one of the most thought provoking podcasts and a #MustListen as you look ahead for planning in 2025... Keep killin' it @achapell.bsky.social (cc @marketecture.tv ). 🔥
open.spotify.com/episode/0dy1...
open.spotify.com/episode/0dy1...
Episode 10: David LeDuc of the NAI
The Monopoly Report · Episode
open.spotify.com
December 11, 2024 at 2:29 PM
Genuinely one of the most thought provoking podcasts and a #MustListen as you look ahead for planning in 2025... Keep killin' it @achapell.bsky.social (cc @marketecture.tv ). 🔥
open.spotify.com/episode/0dy1...
open.spotify.com/episode/0dy1...
Reposted by The Monopoly Report
What will happen to the Lumascape if/when third-party cookies go away? This week on @marketecture.tv's Monopoly Report, I share thoughts on key targeting and addressability solutions in an attempt to capture the current state of play for a post TPC world. tinyurl.com/bdcp9dhz
Post-cookie targeting & addressability
What's left if/when the TPC goes away?
tinyurl.com
December 11, 2024 at 2:39 PM
What will happen to the Lumascape if/when third-party cookies go away? This week on @marketecture.tv's Monopoly Report, I share thoughts on key targeting and addressability solutions in an attempt to capture the current state of play for a post TPC world. tinyurl.com/bdcp9dhz