Communications Law 2023

“Why Mobile Game Ads Look Nothing Like the Game” (Motherboard)

Hi all,

I came across an article which makes an interesting addendum to the topic on which I presented last week: “Why Mobile Game Ads Look Nothing Like the Game” (Motherboard). As the title implies, it focuses on ads for mobile games (on TV and elsewhere), and has more of an American perspective than our presentation did. Here’s a short excerpt:

The blatant disregard for player expectations in Mobile Strike‘s trailer begs the question: how can free-to-play companies legally get away with this . . . ?

The answer is about as dissatisfying as playing Mobile Strike after watching its CGI trailer. The issue stems less from the gaming industry and more from the vague language of the FTC’s Truth in Advertising law—along with the perpetual speedbump of a slow justice system. Potential plaintiffs attempting to file a false advertising lawsuit against these companies would have to prove that the advertising is likely to mislead “reasonable” consumers—which is a slippery terminology in the fast-paced, constantly developing app marketplace.

“Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds – New discoveries about the human mind show the limitations of reason”

Hello everyone,

Here’s a very intriguing article from The New Yorker about information processing and human perception. I suspect that many of you will find this piece interesting and (perhaps more importantly) enjoyable to read. The author relates modern phenomena (e.g. fake news) to key developments in our ancient past, with references to a variety of disciplines, in a distinctly accessible format.

Some quotes that I found particularly memorable as well as useful for capturing and conveying the general tone of the piece:

“People believe that they know way more than they actually do. What allows us to persist in this belief is other people.”

“We’ve been relying on one another’s expertise ever since we figured out how to hunt together, which was probably a key development in our evolutionary history. So well do we collaborate, Sloman and Fernbach argue, that we can hardly tell where our own understanding ends and others’ begins.”

“As people invented new tools for new ways of living, they simultaneously created new realms of ignorance; if everyone had insisted on, say, mastering the principles of metalworking before picking up a knife, the Bronze Age wouldn’t have amounted to much. When it comes to new technologies, incomplete understanding is empowering.”

Enjoy,

February 15 Group Presentation #2 (Social Media and Government Regulation)

Dear All,

Since we are the second group presenting, we’ve tried to keep our content concise. Our presentation will focus on harms arising from social media and government attempts to regulate them. The first link below gives a sense of the type of social harm that can result from the wider reach and often anonymous nature of social media (read the first page only). The second link gives an example of one extreme of government intervention in controlling the content of social media.

Nick & Hui

February 15 Discussion Materials (Internet Advertising)

Hi all,

Zoe and I will be presenting February 15th on internet advertising and a number of unique issues which it raises. To give an idea of what we will cover, please see our our full discussion outline below.

Reading Materials

Please have a look at the following reading materials in advance of our discussion:

Ben Elgin et al, “The Fake Traffic Schemes that Are Rotting the Internet”, Bloomberg (2015), online: <https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-click-fraud/>.
Competition Bureau, “False or Misleading Representations and Deceptive Marketing Practices”, (2009, pamphlet), online: <http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/03133.html>.
An example of a Competition Bureau bulletin: “The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest”, (2015) vol, online: <http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/cb-digest-deceptive-marketing-e.pdf/$FILE/cb-digest-deceptive-marketing-e.pdf>.

How Internet Advertising Works

Advertisers (often, but not exclusively) use…
Ad networks (such as Google DoubleClick, Taboola, etc.) to place links to their websites or content on the pages of…
Publishers (e.g., newspapers, blogs, other various web sites) to draw in…
Audience(s) (you!).

Current Issues

Privacy & Tracking

The modern online advertising industry is built on the collection of user information. What (legal) privacy limits should be imposed on this?
Also, consider implications with regards to “big data” and government surveillance—even if current practices do not offend privacy rights, the retention of user information could present a problem in the future.

Deceptive & Fraudulent Advertising

Are current regulations and regulatory frameworks effective?
Do traditional consumer protection models even work in this context?

Adblocking & the Sustainability of Advertising as an Income Model

Content creator appeals to ethos & the morality of refusing to be advertised to: asking the audience to turn off Adblock?
- eg: https://pagefair.com/blog/2016/rights-or-respect-the-ethics-of-adblocking/
Potential different models: sponsored content or affiliate links?
When and why do we turn off Adblock and consent to see advertising?

The Cloud

News of the Week; February 22, 2017

News of the Week; February 15, 2017

“Why Mobile Game Ads Look Nothing Like the Game” (Motherboard)

“Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds – New discoveries about the human mind show the limitations of reason”

February 15 Group Presentation #2 (Social Media and Government Regulation)

News of the Week; February 8, 2017

Russia Considers Returning Snowden to U.S. to ‘Curry Favor’ With Trump: Official