Jeff Chester

Immersive marketing requires regulation, protections, especially. for fast-foods. Time for AI era consumer protection across platforms, inc. for youth. #PublicHealth
finance.yahoo.com/news/step-in...

Robby Starbuck, Meta settle lawsuit over AI chatbot defamation claim Conservative activist Robby Starbuck settles defamation lawsuit against Meta and will serve as consultant to help combat political bias in the company's AI models.

If Trump FTC negotiating deal with Meta over its past privacy violations, which could weaken safeguards for minors, consider this story too.
www.foxbusiness.com/media/robby-... #FoxBusiness

Will Trump Adm fully endorse commercial surveillance marketing in a US-led TikTok takeover; get 15% of profits from consumer data & marketing tactics? Nvidia/AMD precedent sets stage. Consequences for privacy (inc. minors), consumer protection, competition, antitrust. Sept. 17, deadline coming up

Trump led restructuring of local TV news via FCC--will undermine journalism & communities. Based on faulty premise. Sinclair, Nexstar etc well integrated in today's digital system. ex. bit.ly/3V0d2iN; bit.ly/4myyrvc
see: www.levernews.com/big-broadcas...

Cooking for Trump Apple chief Tim Cook served up a gold-plated tribute to Donald Trump—a craven act of theater that traded the company’s vaunted principles for political favor.

"Cook may see it as a small concession for Apple’s stability, but the performance was corrosive. It signaled to other corporate leaders that... principles are negotiable when profits are on the line," @passantino.bsky.social writes in his Saturday @status.news column. www.status.news/p/tim-cook-g...

Expansion of AI data centers is about fueling expanding commercial surveillance marketing, promoting even more consumption by Platforms, Brands, Agencies, Networks & AI companies not taking environmental responsibility.

Is the Trump #FTC about to turn over the nation's teens to Mark Zuckerberg's Gen AI & influencer marketing machine? Word is a deal is being finalized--a #BigTech givaway to #Meta & a huge set-back to protect US teens. A SuperDumb idea all around.

Does the Trump Adm care about minors, teens? Word is that #FTC now negotiating with Meta on its multiple privacy violations. Will @AFergusonFTC giveaway proposed youth protections--esp. at time of grave risk from Gen AI, expanding data targeting & manipulative marketing tactics.

Progress Report: How we're supporting Black communities and promoting diversity and inclusion - Newsroom | TikTok By Vanessa Pappas, TikTok US General Manager, and Kudzi Chikumbu, Director of Creator Community As we shared in a blog post at the start of this month, racism and discrimination have no place on TikTo...

Will TikTok in US still be "committed to specific, concrete actions in our push toward building an inclusive platform reflective of our diverse world" after it gets sold by Trump Adm? Will it support the civil rights community? See list, etc.
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/progre...

Is Ellison After Warners Next? Skydance-Paramount is still subscale, and David Ellison has access to unlimited capital. Is Warner Bros. in his sights?

Further politically conservative control of US media giants if Ellison's try to acquire Warner Bros. The always invaluable Kim Masters lays it out. Alarm bells should be ringing, inc. possible Ellison role in US TikTok takeover. bit.ly/4fuemUU

FTC Proposes Blanket Prohibition Preventing Facebook from Monetizing Youth Data The Federal Trade Commission proposed changes to the agency’s 2020 privacy order with Facebook after alleging that the company has failed to fully comply with the order, misled parents about their

Does the Trump FTC run by @AFergusonFTC plan to give a Pardon to Meta/Facebook over its multiple privacy failures, enabling it to continue to entrap minors (teens)? Is this a new #BigTech giveaway in works, inc. US consumer &family data? This is what Meta wants to undo. bit.ly/4liGwn0

Is Trump FTC under @AFergusonFTC to give bended knee to Mark Zuckerberg/Meta & let them continue target teens & further erode privacy? Is FTC doing a back-door deal with Meta that sets back protecting data, youth safety, #BigTech accountability? Answers needed now. bit.ly/3GVHuYj

I've had disagreements with @CPBmedia over the decades, but it fulfilled important role providing news, analysis, culture, non profit kids content not found elsewhere. What US now has for TV/video is a hyper-commercialized system gathering data & pleasing marketers. cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

That's why we need serious GenAI regulation--on health, finance, privacy, retail, democracy. meta.com/superintelli...

We have to thank Mark Zuckerberg for bringing us a warning about the ways GenAI will accelerate commercial surveillance marketing worldwide. His "superintelligence" is code for data-driven marketing on steroids across platforms, channels, experiences. It's Meta's super monetization agenda.

Lift social strategy with creator marketing - Think with Google Google’s Official Digital Marketing Publication. Discover how to lift your social strategy with YouTube creators and influencer marketing.

tailored to resonate with specific audience segments... ads outperformed the YouTube engagement benchmark by 43%...Only YouTube has the breadth and depth across every screen and format for fans to truly immerse themselves in their passions, guided by the creators they trust the most."
bit.ly/3IVb94m

Lift social strategy with creator marketing - Think with Google Google’s Official Digital Marketing Publication. Discover how to lift your social strategy with YouTube creators and influencer marketing.

Role of platforms & #influencers pushing soda & unhealthy food brands need to be on global consumer protection, & public health agenda. Via Google: "Pepsi established deep connections with a diverse customer base through YouTube Creator Ads. The company partnered with six YouTube creators...

Paramount deal thrusts David Ellison into Trump’s war with US media What began as a Hollywood studio merger has become a test of how far corporate America will bend to president’s will

Another warning about incoming Paramount/CBS/CBS News chief David (Oracle $) Ellison, via FT & Status. Where "a person close" to Ellison said he believes "The news lost its way—it became extreme, elitist, and performative... We need to get back to fundamentals."
www.ft.com/content/b077... via @ft

Trump FCC led inquiry into Comcast/NBCU TV station relationships requires transparency, accountability & oversight. FCC cannot be relied to ensure the public interest is met. Make all records public; have public debate with media historians, experts.
s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Morton Mintz, Post reporter with a muckraker spirit, dies at 103 A pioneer in consumer affairs journalism, he helped expose the deformity-causing hazards posed by thalidomide, a once-popular drug for morning sickness.

Morton Mintz was a consummate ‘beat journalist.’ His pioneering sense of newsworthiness, including reporting what citizen groups were doing, opened up one area of consumer, environmental, and workplace abuses after another for other reporters to follow.

FCC Launches Probe into Comcast and NBCUniversal Over Treatment of Local NBC Stations | Cord Cutters News Update: A Comcast spokesperson gave this statement to Cord Cutters News: “We have received an inquiry from the FCC and will cooperate with them to answer their questions. We are proud that for many de...

Dangerous, censorious & politically motivated attack on press freedom & access to news via @BrendanCarrFCC. Out of Nixon/Agnew playbook. What Trump Adm doing via FCC/FTC is to make broadcasters, networks, digital co's fearful about holding it accountable.
bit.ly/4oepQiY

YouTube most popular first TV destination for children, Ofcom finds One in five young viewers go to platform first when they turn on TV, as older people also watch more of its content

Before @Ofcom urges BBC to work with YouTube, there must be reforms in UK video streaming market. @Ofcom should ask @ICOnews investigate data+ad tactics of UK video stream channels & implement reforms; BBC should not be part of the commercial surveillance streaming complex.
bit.ly/4odoO75

Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system with Big Tech's help The Trump administration is pushing for Americans to upload personal health data to new apps run by private tech companies. This initiative aims to make accessing health records and monitoring...

@maddow.msnbc.com et al should comment on NBCU selling off MSNBC et al; its new board re. journalism. Via Status: "MSNBC is preparing to pack up its 30 Rock offices and shed its Peacock feathers as it embarks on a high‑stakes reinvention...an early step in MSNBC’s break from NBC News..."

Look at the "cast" here, via AP story: "Pres. Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the initiative Wed. afternoon... The event is expected to involve leaders from more than 60 companies, including major tech companies such as Google and Amazon..."
www.seattlepi.com/business/art...

Qualcomm gave $1 million to pro-Trump dark money group  - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Technology company Qualcomm gave $1 million to a nonprofit that supported Trump in the 2024 election and is spending to boost his agenda.

BREAKING: Qualcomm gave $1 million to Securing American Greatness, a nonprofit that does not disclose its donors and supported Trump in the 2024 election. That's the first known corporate donation to the dark money group.
www.citizensforethics.org/reports-inve...

Trump administration is launching a new private health tracking system with Big Tech's help The Trump administration is pushing for Americans to upload personal health data to new apps run by private tech companies. This initiative aims to make accessing health records easier. Leaders from.....

Trump new plan via @CMSGov will enable further commercial harvesting of your health data & weaken privacy. “This scheme is an open door for the further use and monetization of sensitive and personal health information," said @chesterj1
www.seattlepi.com/business/art...

Bravo @RepRaskin for standing up to tyrants: Via Politico-"After Farage accused Raskin of being “the most pig-headed person he'd ever met,” the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee clapped back: “This is why we had a revolution against you guys.”

Opinion | Trump Moves to Silence a New Target

Trump Adm project to weaken & co-opt digital, TV, other media--via the FTC & FCC-- threatens US democracy. By using regulation to shape how ad dollars are spent--Trump political movement benefits as news operations, content diversity & accountability undermined.. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/o...

Costs to U.S. Companies from EU Digital Services Regulation - CCIA Research Center

Europeans have better privacy, consumer protection, more competition, make accountable tech giants, teen protections. When US biz group tries to argue costs for US tech monopolies, think about what these co's have done to privacy, kids health, online scams, more. ccianet.org/research/rep...

Jordi Hays on X: "Mark Cuban is promoting a policy that would almost certainly make the best AI inaccessible for low income Americans and lead to greater wealth inequality over time https://t.co/6xYo1sYvnz" / X Mark Cuban is promoting a policy that would almost certainly make the best AI inaccessible for low income Americans and lead to greater wealth inequality over time https://t.co/6xYo1sYvnz

Commercial surveillance marketing on steroids is what Gen AI is really about--extending the model that has undermined democracy online & more. Gen AI is being shaped by advertising & marketing--with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Meta in lead & Open AI, others too. x.com/mcuban/statu...