Top News in Tech: Dec ’23

Mark your calendars for Jan. 4, 2024, all you deprecation skeptics. That’s the day Google will release a new browser feature called Tracking Protection. (Allison Schiff/AdExchanger)

A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads, according to a review of CMG marketing materials by 404 Media and details from a pitch given to an outside marketing professional. (Joseph Cox/404 Media)

Media and most telecommunications companies still don’t have a strong growth narrative for 2024. Interest rate and regulatory concerns may curb transformative deals until 2025. (Alex Sherman/CNBC)

This is the last Data Privacy Roundup of 2023. And because it is the birthright of every trade journalist to spend most of December recycling and repackaging their own content from the year that was, that’s what I’m going to do. (Allison Schiff/AdExchanger)

How would you describe the state of privacy in the ad tech industry? “In one word: fragmented,” said Tony Katsur, CEO of the IAB Tech Lab, speaking during a virtual event hosted by ID5 on Thursday. (Mark Stenberg/Adweek)

Snowflake started a snowball rolling in the ad industry two years ago. By now, it’s become a full-fledged avalanche. On Monday, Snowflake announced its acquisition of Samooha, a startup that develops software to make clean room technology accessible to marketers who aren’t necessarily SQL wizards or data scientists. (James Hercher/AdExchanger)

Digital advertising’s ad gold rush has been ascendent for nearly 30 years. But consumer habits have changed. The industry is now in the midst of the next big event, an ad renaissance sparked by one of the fastest-growing channels in ad land: connected TV. (Hannah Burke, MNTN/Adweek)

How would you describe the state of privacy in the ad tech industry? “In one word: fragmented,” said Tony Katsur, CEO of the IAB Tech Lab, speaking during a virtual event hosted by ID5 on Thursday. (Allison Schiff/AdExchanger)

Elon Musk’s more free speech-aligned approach to content moderation looks set to cause him more challenges, with the European Union today launching formal proceedings to investigate Musk’s X platform over possible breaches of the region’s new Digital Services Act. (Andrew Hutchinson/Social Media Today)