Is it the end of capitalizing on data?

Making money from data is getting harder for big tech companies. The EU is getting in the way and demanding explicit consent for everything.

EU ends data capitalism

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Meta (formerly Facebook) requires user consent for tracking and profiling. In addition, the ruling confirms that Meta must obtain explicit consent for processing sensitive data. This ruling could lead to stricter enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and bring about a significant change in surveillance capitalism.

  
Threads sucks too much data

Meta's new Twitter alternative, Threads, has not yet been launched in the EU due to potential privacy issues. The app could collect sensitive user data such as health and financial information, which requires explicit consent under EU law. New EU regulations could ban the use of sensitive data for advertising altogether. Meta was recently fined nearly $1.3 billion for data breaches. Threads' launch in the EU is uncertain.

Italy taxes free data

Italy is investigating Meta's tax situation, which could be groundbreaking for the technology sector. The case is based on the theory that user registrations with Meta could be seen as taxable transactions, as they represent an exchange of user data. This could earn Meta a back tax payment of around €870 million. Meta denies the direct connection between its services and access to user data for advertisers.
 
Are Apple's data glasses flopping?

Apple has scaled back production of its Vision Pro headset and postponed the launch of a cheaper model. The company has asked its contract manufacturer Luxshare to produce fewer than 400,000 units next year, instead of the original internal target sale of one million. The high-end device, whose cost is high due to custom hardware and new technologies, is expected to appeal mainly to developers and enterprises.

GAIO replaces SEO

Generative AI optimization (GAIO) could replace search engine optimization (SEO). GAIO deals with how brands and products can be placed prominently in widely used Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT or Bing Chat. Unlike SEO, GAIO is not about backlinks, but about brand mentions. Tools for analyzing the presence of products and brands in the responses of LLMs then become important. GAIO is still in the development phase, but there is the potential for significant first-mover advantage.