The Friday Five: UK Ad Market on the Up, Cost of Invalid Traffic Hits $71B, and Whistleblower Criticises Meta over Child Protection

Welcome to the newest edition of The Friday Five, where we bring you the latest news from marketing, technology, and social media.

In this latest edition, we examine the intricacies of Google's stringent measures to ensure GDPR compliance, the unexpected surge in UK ad spend, and the exponential growth in social media ad spending.

We'll also discuss the looming threat of invalid traffic and a whistleblower's criticisms of Meta's efforts to protect young users.

Right, we've got a lot to get into so let's jump straight into it.

1. Google Threatening Suspension for Failure to Make Consent Banner Compliant

Google has warned website and app owners in the European Union, cautioning them about the potential suspension of their accounts if they display non-compliant GDPR Consent Banners.

This move is in adherence to the EU User Consent Policy, which requires site owners to obtain consent from end users in the EU and UK for the use of cookies, personal data collection for ad personalisation, and to identify parties involved in data processing.

If Google detects a violation, it will notify the site owner via email, specifying the issue and setting a deadline for resolution.

Failure to rectify the problem within the stipulated timeframe may result in account suspension.

To ensure compliance, site owners are urged to refer to Google's outlined steps for implementing consent mode on their websites or apps. Businesses must address violations promptly to avoid revenue loss from Google.

For more, visit Search Engine Land .

2. UK Ad Market in Good Shape With Spending to Exceed Expectations

The UK advertising market seems to be in better shape than initially anticipated, as recent data reveals a higher-than-expected 6.4% increase in ad spending for 2023.

According to the Advertising Association and WARC’s quarterly expenditure report, the revised forecast places ad spending at ￡37bn, a 3.8 percentage point rise from October’s projections.

This adjustment is attributed to a significant 15.9% surge in the third quarter, marking the first time ad spend exceeded ￡9bn.

The unexpected boost in marketing budgets, reported in the IPA Bellwether study, and further summarised in last week's Friday Five, further supports this positive trend.

With 26% of businesses revising their spending upwards in the final quarter of the year, the advertising landscape experienced growth across various channels.

Optimism prevails for 2024, with forecasted growth driven by events like the Men’s UEFA Euros, a potential general election, and Olympics coverage.

The Advertising Association anticipates a return to growth for TV, radio, and other news brands in 2024, indicating advertisers' sustained commitment to investing in their brands amid economic uncertainties.

Marketing Week goes into more detail here.

3. Looking back at the Increase in Social Media Ad Spend

Saying social media is a huge deal isn't exactly new or interesting. However, occasionally, it's good to stop and pause to consider just how huge

Ranking as the second-largest in the digital advertising space, it has experienced remarkable growth, with an estimated 4.9 billion users worldwide.

Over 90% of marketers utilise social media platforms to connect with customers, making it a major revenue driver in the digital advertising sector.

In 2023 alone, brands invested a staggering $207 billion in social media ads, contributing to a monumental total of $930 billion spent since 2017.

In 2017, brands invested $51.3 billion in social media ads, soaring to $180.9 billion in 2021, driven by the increased use of social media during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Projections indicate a continued upward trajectory, with an expected expenditure of almost $220 billion in 2024, reflecting a 330% increase from 2017.

In global comparisons, the United States leads as the largest social media advertising market, with brands spending $340 billion since 2017, surpassing Chinese and UK brands combined.

The UK, Japan, and Germany follow as the world's third-largest, fourth-largest, and fifth-largest social media advertising markets, respectively.

Interested to learn more? Visit Marketing Tech News.

4. Invalid Traffic a Huge Threat to Brands in 2024

Invalid traffic, encompassing bot activity, automated scripts, and fake clicks, poses a substantial threat to ad spend budgets according to a new report.

Lunio's Wasted Ad Spend report estimates that advertisers are set to waste over $71 billion on traffic generated by invalid activity in 2024, marking a 33% increase from 2022.

The rise in invalid traffic is attributed to advancements in automation and artificial intelligence (AI), enabling bots to mimic human behaviour more sophisticatedly, evading traditional detection methods.

Notably, 47.4% of all internet traffic is now attributed to bots, as per Imperva's 2023 Bad Bot report, posing a considerable challenge to marketers.

Lunio's research further reveals that 8.5% of paid traffic across major marketing channels is invalid, emphasising the need for increased awareness and countermeasures.

Monitoring bounce rates and session times, along with leveraging AI and machine learning, becomes crucial in detecting and preventing invalid traffic efficiently.

MarTech Series goes into more detail here.

5. Meta Could, but Isn’t, Doing More to Protect Children Says Whistleblower

A former senior engineer and consultant at Meta, Arturo Béjar, has criticised the social media company, asserting that it has not taken sufficient measures to protect children following the death of Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing distressing social media content.

Béjar contends that Meta already possesses the infrastructure to shield teenagers from harmful content and could have created a safer environment for young users.

His research on Instagram users reveals that 8.4% of 13- to 15-year-olds had witnessed self-harm or threats of self-harm within the past week.

Béjar argues that Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has the tools at his disposal to make Instagram safer for teenagers. The former Meta employee's research and efforts to prompt action are featured in a lawsuit against Meta by the New Mexico attorney general, Raúl Torrez.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta fails to protect children from sexual abuse, predatory approaches, and human trafficking. Unredacted documents from the case reveal that Meta employees warned the company was defending the status quo following Molly's death.

Meta has defended its efforts, highlighting over 30 tools and resources introduced to support teen safety online.

The Guardian has more on this.

And there you have it, another Friday Five in the books!

As always, we wish you a fantastic weekend and look forward to checking in next Friday for more updates from the industry.

If you have any stories that you think we should be covering then be sure to get in touch with us!

In the meantime, see you next Friday!