Another day, another attempt by Microsoft to extract as much revenue as possible from Office users:

"Microsoft has quietly launched a new version of Microsoft Office for Windows that can be used to edit documents for free, no Microsoft 365 subscription or Office license key required. This free version of Office is based on the full desktop apps, but has most features locked behind the Microsoft 365 subscription.

First spotted by Beebom, the free version of Office for Windows includes ads that are permanently on screen when within a document in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Additionally, this new free version of Office also only allows you to save files to OneDrive, meaning no support for editing local files.

To access the free version of Office, just skip the prompt to sign-in when you first run an Office app. From there, you will be given the choice to continue to use Office for free in exchange for ads and limited features. In this mode, you can open, view, and even edit documents, just like you can with the web version of Office."

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/office-365/microsoft-quietly-launches-free-ad-supported-version-of-office-apps-for-windows-with-limited-functionality

#Microsoft #AdTech #Advertising #Surveillance #AdTargeting #AdTracking #MSOffice

"For 37 years, Congress has completely failed to pass another consumer privacy law. Which is how we got here – to this moment where you can target ads to suicidal teens, gambling addicted soldiers in Minuteman silos, grannies with Alzheimer's, and every Congressional staffer on the Hill.

Some people think the problem with mass surveillance is a kind of machine-driven, automated mind-control ray. They believe the self-aggrandizing claims of tech bros to have finally perfected the elusive mind-control ray, using big data and machine learning.

But you don't need to accept these outlandish claims – which come from Big Tech's sales literature, wherein they boast to potential advertisers that surveillance ads are devastatingly effective – to understand how and why this is harmful. If you're struggling with opioid addiction and I target an ad to you for a fake cure or rehab center, I haven't brainwashed you – I've just tricked you. We don't have to believe in mind-control to believe that targeted lies can cause unlimited harms.

And those harms are indeed grave."

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/20/privacy-first-second-third/#malvertising

#USA #AdTech #DataBrokers #DataBrokerage #Privacy #BigTech #MassSurveillance #DataProtection

"Privacy campaigners have called Google's new rules on tracking people online "a blatant disregard for user privacy."

Changes which come in on Sunday permit so-called "fingerprinting", which allows online advertisers to collect more data about users including their IP addresses and information about their devices.

Google says this data is already widely used by other companies, and it continues to encourage responsible data use.

However the company had previously come out strongly against this kind of data collection, saying in a 2019 blog that fingerprinting "subverts user choice and is wrong."

But in a post announcing the new rule changes, Google said the way people used the internet - such as devices like smart TVs and consoles - meant it was harder to target ads to users using conventional data collection, which users control with cookie consent."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm21g0052dno

#Google #AdTech #Privacy #Fingerprinting #DataProtection

Es wäre ein bisschen schade für den Tech-Journalismus, wenn man nicht mehr jede Woche einen Skandalbericht über verhaltensbasierte #Werbung vom Baum schütteln kann, aber besser wäre es natürlich für die Verbraucher'innen, man haut das von vorne bis hinten betrügerische Werbegeschäft auf den Müllhaufen der Internetgeschichte.

Der #VZBV fordert und skizziert das - natürlich viel sachlicher formuliert als von mir jetzt - in einem neuen Positionspapier.
https://www.vzbv.de/pressemitteilungen/personalisierte-werbung-regulierung-ueberfaellig
#adtech #DSGVO

Our data shouldn’t be used in a game where the house always wins 🎰

🚷 Big Tech shouldn't track your every move across the Internet to profile you as a product.

✅ Consent is a must – we should be able to opt-out of all targeted advertising on these platforms.

#adtech #Meta #dataprotection #GDPR #advertising #ukpolitics #ukpol

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/08/gambling-firms-secretly-shared-users-data-with-facebook-without-permission

Mit mehr als 35 NGOs aus ganz Europa fordern wir heute die EU-Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen und ihre Kolleginnen auf, dem politischen Druck der großen Tech-Unternehmen zu widerstehen und die europäischen Digitalgesetze entschlossen durchzusetzen.

Der Digital Services Act, der Digital Markets Act und das EU-Wettbewerbsrecht sind für den Schutz unserer Demokratie und unserer Wirtschaft von entscheidender Bedeutung.

Die großen Tech-Konzerne versuchen, die Trump-Regierung zu aktivieren, um ihre Ausbeutung von Nutzern und abhängigen Unternehmen zu schützen. Ihre unkontrollierte Macht hat eine unfaire digitale Wirtschaft geschaffen, die uns allen schadet. Die EU darf dem Druck nicht nachgeben.

https://rebalance-now.de/nach-trump-antritt-ngos-fordern-von-der-eu-einen-klaren-kurs-gegen-einfluss-der-tech-konzerne/

#BigTech #EU #DSA #DMA #Google #Musk #Meta #Adtech

The Pressure Is on for Big Tech to Regulate the Broken Digital Advertising Industry - https://www.wired.com/story/big-tech-digital-advertising-regulation/ should have been done 10 years ago #adtech #surveillance #privacy

Here's a brilliant article about the opaque and broken world of programmatic advertising.

These platforms truly are a cesspit.

They are causing billions of ad dollars from reputable brands to be pumped into disinformation sites.

Meanwhile, ads are systematically blocked from appearing on reputable news sites that have articles that include words like "Palestine", "black", or "gay".

And the biggest player in this industry? Google!

Just another way Google is enshittifying the internet for profit.

https://www.wired.com/story/death-of-truth-misinformation-advertising/

#tech #technology #marketing #adtech #Google #enshittification

11/
Nuestra posición sobre #AdTech ya detallada en 📗 #FakeYou:

La desinformación solo se combate desmantelando la industria que patrocinan partidos y otros.

💸💼 Aplicar #FollowTheMoney, transparencia comercial y protección de libertad de expresión.

https://xnet-x.net/es/nuestra-posicion-sobre-adtech/