It can be hard to keep up on everything adtech in the news. Here are a few interesting stories from the past week:

Data Clean Rooms

Last week we discussed what Walled Gardens were and how Big Tech would need to become more transparent with advertisers about the data they use. One other aspect that Big Tech was considering are Data Clean Rooms (DCR): a secure environment where multiple parties can utilize data for select purposes. However, AdExchanger points out that IAB Tech Lab has stated that there “currently isn’t one single way to accomplish this.”

This past Thursday, Tech Lab released its recommended practices and guidance for DCR as well as Open Private Join & Activation (OPJA) specifications “to support and define interoperable clean room interactions for digital advertising.” These standards are open for public comment until April 17. The recommendations outline base expectations for a clean room to ensure that data remains private and secure, regardless of the purpose of the DCR.

Bing Chatbot Advertising

Reuters broke the story about Microsoft discussing its plans to insert advertising into ChatGPT Bing search results. Following a demo of its next Bing update last week, Reuters was told that Microsoft “plans to allow paid links within responses to search results.” This would be accomplished by using “traditional search ads” and “inserting them into responses generated” by the chatbot. No timeline has been provided for when direct ad purchases by brands will be available.

Google Antitrust Lawsuit

In late January, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), along with eight states, filed a lawsuit against Google, “illegally abusing a monopoly over the technology that powers online advertising,” according to the New York Times. 

The lawsuit, coming in at a hefty 155 pages, can be difficult to digest. Last week, Digiday released two videos that break down what Google’s adtech operations did to raise alarms with the DOJ, and how Google’s tools have the advantage over other adtech companies. The videos explain several facets of the suit, such as Google using its ad exchange to give priority to its own ads before competitors, and how Google manipulated “both sides of the ad exchange” by working for both publishers and advertisers.