Solar Energy News  
INTERNET SPACE
Facebook inflated its advertising audiences: lawsuit
by AFP Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Feb 19, 2021

Facebook inflated estimates about how many people would see targeted ads, but ignored the problem in order to generate more revenue, according to civil suit documents unveiled Thursday.

The social networking giant has been facing a class action lawsuit since 2018. The plaintiffs claim that the platform's managers knew that its so-called "Potential Reach" measure was misleading, but did not seek to rectify the situation so as not to lose revenue.

The California company derives the overwhelming majority of its revenue from the sale of targeted advertising. Prices vary according to many criteria, including the number of users likely to see the campaign.

"Facebook knew for years its Potential Reach was inflated and misleading," lawyers in the suit contended in the filing.

The suit argued that Facebook made a deliberate decision not to remove duplicate or fake accounts from Potential Reach tool metrics.

And the legal documents cited a Potential Reach product manager who wrote in an internal email: "it's revenue we should have never made given the fact it's based on wrong data."

"These documents are being cherry-picked to fit the plaintiff's narrative," Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Osborne maintained that ad campaigning planning tool Potential Reach is "an estimate and we make clear how it's calculated."

The internet giant contended that the Potential Reach feature is merely a "free tool" advertisers had the option of looking at and did not affect delivery of ads, according to court documents.

The Potential Reach tool lets advertisers put in budget and other criteria into a software program and be given an estimate of how many people they could reach on the Facebook platform.

"Facebook did not merely 'drag its feet' in providing inaccurate and misleading Potential Reach. Rather, Facebook knew for years its Potential Reach was misleading, and concealed that fact to preserve its own bottom line," plaintiffs' attorneys argued in a February 10 filing.

Facebook modified the Potential Reach tool in 2019.

Lawyers representing plaintiffs in the case called on a federal court in San Francisco to reject a request by Facebook that the two-year-old litigation be dismissed.

gc/caw

Facebook


Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


INTERNET SPACE
Italy fines Facebook 7 mn euros over data protection
Rome (AFP) Feb 17, 2021
Italy's antitrust regulator announced Wednesday a new fine of 7.0 million euros ($8.45 million) against Facebook for misleading conduct on data protection. According to the authority, known as AGCM, the US social media giant fails to properly inform users about how it collects and uses their data for commercial purposes. AGCM had already fined Facebook 5.0 million euros in 2018, charging it with unfair trading practices, and ordered it to take corrective action. Wednesday's second fine came ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

INTERNET SPACE
Recycling carbon emissions to useful chemicals and reducing global warming

New synthetic route for biofuel production

Termite gut microbes could aid biofuel production

Norwegian fertiliser maker Yara steps into green energy

INTERNET SPACE
This robot doesn't need any electronics

Machine-learning program imagines a protein's many possible structures

Artificial skin brings robots closer to 'touching' human lives

How modern robots are developed

INTERNET SPACE
BP enters UK offshore wind sector

Denmark moves forward on North Sea 'energy island'

$43 bn deal for 'world's biggest' offshore wind farm in South Korea

Magnora enters partnership to establish floating wind company

INTERNET SPACE
Nissan says not in talks with Apple on self-driving cars

Ford launches $1-bn drive to go electric in Europe

Daimler partners with Amazon on self-driving trucks

Jaguar car brand to go fully electric from 2025

INTERNET SPACE
Reduced nickel content leads to improved stability and performance for Ceramic fuel cells

New machine learning theory raises questions about nature of science

Novel two-polymer membrane boosts hydrogen fuel cell performance

New wearable device converts body heat into electricity

INTERNET SPACE
Framatome and Wroclaw University of Technology train the next generation of nuclear professionals

Plant as superhero during nuclear power plant accidents

NERC Compliance Teams stay up-to-date on critical industry news with Certrec GRC Data Platforms

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announces formation of Canadian SMR Business

INTERNET SPACE
Power outages leave millions shivering in deadly US cold snap

Maersk to launch first carbon neutral ship within two years

Getting to net zero and even negative is surprisingly feasible, and affordable

BlackRock pushes companies to set more ambitious climate targets

INTERNET SPACE
More trees do not always create a cooler planet

NASA satellites help quantify forests' impacts on global carbon budget

US, EU importing potentially illegal wood from Brazil: report

Brazil indigenous leaders sue Bolsonaro for 'crimes against humanity'









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.