Latest news with #techcompanies
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Citing New Rules, Meta Says It Will End Political Ads in E.U.
Meta on Friday said that it would end political advertisements on its platform in European Union countries, the latest turn in the battle over regulation of its activities. Beginning in October, the company will stop ads related to political, electoral or social issues, it said in a release, citing a forthcoming E.U. regulation around the transparency of political advertising. Meta's decision to pull political advertising was the latest example of tensions between big tech companies and European lawmakers, who have pushed for more aggressive oversight. The companies have especially faced scrutiny of their approaches to political advertising and speech. E.U. regulators have levied hefty fines on Meta for breaching other rules, including a $230 million antitrust penalty in April and $1.3 billion in 2023 over its handling of user data. Meta's changing approach to political advertising has implications for the region's politics, where campaigns are estimated to have spent tens of millions of euros using its platforms to reach voters. The new regulation, which comes into effect in October, was introduced to counter concerns around foreign interference and misinformation during elections for the bloc's 27 countries. European officials said at the time that the rules would make it easier for citizens to recognize political advertisements and 'make informed choices.' Under the law, tech platforms that disseminate political advertisements online must disclose the source of the advertisements and adhere to restrictions on whom they can target with such advertisements. Political advertising from sponsors outside of the bloc will be banned in the three-month lead-up to an election or referendum. Meta said on Friday that the regulation ignored the benefits for advertisers and their audiences. The company said it had make a 'difficult decision' to pull political advertising, citing 'unworkable requirements and legal uncertainties,' under the new regulation. 'Despite extensive engagement with policymakers to share these concerns, we have been left with an impossible choice,' Meta said. It added: 'Once again, we're seeing regulatory obligations effectively remove popular products and services from the market, reducing choice and competition.' It follows a similar decision by Google last November, which also said it would stop political advertising in the European Union, citing the challenges of meeting the new regulation's requirements. The decision will only affect political advertisers on Meta platforms in the European Union. Politicians, candidates and other users will still be able to produce and share political content, 'they just won't be able to amplify this through paid advertising,' the company said. European Union regulators have accused Meta of having insufficient safeguards against the spread of disinformation, including misleading advertisements, which has amplified political division and influenced elections. Meta said it already had adequate processes in place.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Digital Silk Outlines Branding Challenges Facing Tech Companies in 2025
Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - July 22, 2025) - Digital Silk, an award-winning branding agency focused on creating brand strategies, custom websites, and digital marketing campaigns, has published a new article exploring how tech companies can address branding challenges in today's innovation-driven and highly saturated markets. The article, now available on the company's blog, identifies key obstacles to effective brand positioning and shares recommendations for tech founders and CMOs building scalable brand identities. Digital Silk Outlines Branding Challenges Facing Tech Companies in 2025 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Report Highlights Growing Branding Gaps in Tech Sector According to Digital Silk's research, many tech companies face disconnects between their brand promise and user perception. Common challenges include overly product-centric messaging, inconsistent brand visuals across channels, and lack of clarity on brand purpose. These gaps can potentially impact user trust, brand differentiation, and investor interest. "As tech companies scale, their brand needs to scale with them," said Gabriel Shaoolian, CEO of Digital Silk. "This article aims to help companies recognize where their brand architecture may be limiting growth or confusing audiences." Top Branding Obstacles Identified Digital Silk's article outlines five common brand development issues facing the tech sector: Lack of clear positioning in competitive markets Messaging that focuses on features instead of customer value Visual branding that fails to scale across platforms Disconnected internal and external brand communication Difficulty articulating a brand purpose beyond product features Why Brand Strategy Is a Growth Lever for Tech Firms Data from McKinsey shows that strong brands can outperform competitors by up to 20% in key financial metrics, including customer acquisition and lifetime value. Digital Silk's content emphasizes that tech firms investing in cohesive brand strategy may better align teams, enhance customer understanding, and support market expansion efforts. The full article, "Branding for Tech Companies: 5 Challenges and How to Solve Them," is available at: About Digital Silk Digital Silk is an award-winning Miami Branding Agency focused on growing brands online. With a team of seasoned experts, we create digital experiences through strategic branding, custom web design, and digital marketing services to help improve visibility and support engagement.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Digital Silk Outlines Branding Challenges Facing Tech Companies in 2025
Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - July 22, 2025) - Digital Silk, an award-winning branding agency focused on creating brand strategies, custom websites, and digital marketing campaigns, has published a new article exploring how tech companies can address branding challenges in today's innovation-driven and highly saturated markets. The article, now available on the company's blog, identifies key obstacles to effective brand positioning and shares recommendations for tech founders and CMOs building scalable brand identities. Digital Silk Outlines Branding Challenges Facing Tech Companies in 2025To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Report Highlights Growing Branding Gaps in Tech Sector According to Digital Silk's research, many tech companies face disconnects between their brand promise and user perception. Common challenges include overly product-centric messaging, inconsistent brand visuals across channels, and lack of clarity on brand purpose. These gaps can potentially impact user trust, brand differentiation, and investor interest. "As tech companies scale, their brand needs to scale with them," said Gabriel Shaoolian, CEO of Digital Silk. "This article aims to help companies recognize where their brand architecture may be limiting growth or confusing audiences." Top Branding Obstacles Identified Digital Silk's article outlines five common brand development issues facing the tech sector: Lack of clear positioning in competitive markets Messaging that focuses on features instead of customer value Visual branding that fails to scale across platforms Disconnected internal and external brand communication Difficulty articulating a brand purpose beyond product features Why Brand Strategy Is a Growth Lever for Tech Firms Data from McKinsey shows that strong brands can outperform competitors by up to 20% in key financial metrics, including customer acquisition and lifetime value. Digital Silk's content emphasizes that tech firms investing in cohesive brand strategy may better align teams, enhance customer understanding, and support market expansion efforts. The full article, "Branding for Tech Companies: 5 Challenges and How to Solve Them," is available at: About Digital SilkDigital Silk is an award-winning Miami Branding Agency focused on growing brands online. With a team of seasoned experts, we create digital experiences through strategic branding, custom web design, and digital marketing services to help improve visibility and support engagement. Media ContactJessica ErasmusMarketing Director & PR ManagerTel: (800) 206-9413Email: jessica@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
New Study Shows Teens Are Increasingly Relying on AI Chatbots for Social Interaction
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. Yeah, this seems like it's going to be a problem in future, though maybe that's considered the cost of progress? Last week, Common Sense Media published a new report which found that 72% of U.S. teens have already used an AI companion, with many of them now conducting regular social interactions with their chosen virtual friends. The study is based on a survey of 1,060 teens, so it's intended as an indicative measure, not as a definitive overview of AI usage. But the trends do point to some potentially significant concerns, particularly as platforms now look to introduce AI bots that can also serve as romantic partners in some capacity. First off, as noted, the data shows that 72% of teens have tried AI companions, and 52% of them have become regular users of these bots. What's worth noting here is that AI bots aren't anywhere near where they're likely to be in a few more years' time, with the tech companies investing billions of dollars into advancing their AI bots to make them more relatable, more conversational, and better emulators of real human engagement. But they're not. These are bots, which respond to conversational cues based on the context that they have available, and whatever weighting system each company puts into their back-end process. So they're not an accurate simulation of actual human interaction, and they never will be, due to the real mental and physical connection enabled through such. Yet, we're moving towards a future where this is going to become a more viable replacement for actual civic engagement. But what if a bot gets changed, gets infected with harmful code, gets hacked, shut down, etc.? The broader implications of enabling, and encouraging such connection, are not yet known, in terms of the mental health impacts that could come as a result. But we're moving forward anyway, with the data showing that 33% of teens already use AI companions for social interaction and relationships. Of course, some of this may well end up being highly beneficial, in varying contexts. For example, the ability to ask questions that you may not be comfortable saying to another person could be a big help, with the survey data showing that 18% of AI companion users refer to the tools for advice. Nonjudgmental interaction has clear benefits, while 39% of AI companion users have also transferred social skills that they've practiced with bots over to real-life situations (notably, 45% of females have done this, versus 34% of male users). So there's definitely going to be benefits. But like social media before it, the question is whether those positives will end up outweighing the potential negatives of over-reliance on non-human entities for traditionally human engagement. 31% of survey participants indicated that they find conversations with AI companions as satisfying or more satisfying than those with real-life friends, while 33% have chosen AI over humans for certain conversations. As noted, the fact that these bots can be skewed to answer based on ideological lines is a concern in this respect, as is the tendency for AI tools to 'hallucinate' and make incorrect assumptions in their responses, which they then state as fact. That could lead youngsters down the wrong path, which could then lead to potential harm, while again, the shift to AI companions as romantic partners opens up even more questions about the future of relationships. It seems inevitable that this is going to become a more common usage for AI tools, that our budding relationships with human simulators will lead to more people looking to take those understanding, non-judgmental relationships to another level. Real people will never understand you like your algorithmically-aligned AI bot can, and that could actually end up exacerbating the loneliness epidemic, as opposed to addressing it, as some have suggested. And if young people are learning these new relationship behavors in their formative years, what does that do for their future concept of human connection, if indeed they feel they need that? And they do need it. Centuries of studies have underlined the importance of human connection and community, and the need to have real relationships to help shape your understanding perspective. AI bots may be able to simulate some of that, but actual physical connection is also important, as is human proximity, real world participation, etc. We're steadily moving away from this over time, and you could argue, already, that increasing rates of severe loneliness, which the WHO has declared a 'pressing global health threat,' are already having major health impacts. Indeed, studies have shown that loneliness is associated with a 50% increased risk of developing dementia and a 30% increased risk of incident coronary artery disease or stroke. Will AI bots help that? And if not, why are we pushing them so hard? Why is every app now trying to make you chat with these non-real entities, and share your deepest secrets with their evolving AI tools? Is this more beneficial to society, or to the big tech platforms that are building these AI models? If you lean towards the latter conclusion, then progress is seemingly the bigger focus, just as it was with social media before it. AI providers are already pushing for the European Union to relax its restrictions on AI development, while the looming AI development race between nations is also increasing the pressure on all governments to loosen the reigns, in favor of expediting innovation. But should we feel encouraged by Meta's quest for 'superintelligence,' or concerned at the rate in which these tools are becoming so common in elements of serious potential impact? That's not to say that AI development in itself is bad, and there are many use cases for the latest AI tools that will indeed increase efficiency, innovation, opportunity, etc. But there does seem to be some areas in which we should probably tread more cautiously, due to the risks of over reliance, and the impacts of such on a broad scale. That's seemingly not going to happen, but in ten years time, we're going to be assessing this from a whole different perspective. You can check out Common Sense Media's 'Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs' report here. 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤
Wall Street Journal
17-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
White House Prepares Executive Order Targeting ‘Woke AI'
White House officials are preparing an executive order targeting tech companies with what they see as 'woke' artificial-intelligence models, their latest effort to go after diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, people familiar with the matter said. The order would dictate that AI companies getting federal contracts be politically neutral and unbiased, an effort to combat what administration officials see as overly liberal AI models, the people said.
