> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nearmedia.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # FTC Sues Two, Local Inventory Gains, AI Content Here to Stay - URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/ftc-sues-two-local-inventory-momentum-ai-content-gains/ - Published: 2022-08-31T17:13:59.000Z - Updated: 2022-08-31T21:18:40.000Z - Author: Greg Sterling - Tags: News ### Kochava, Roomster Targeted by FTC Reflecting a massive shift in attitudes toward data collection, Oracle [was sued last week](https://www.nearmedia.co/googles-hcu-tiktokification-privacy-class-action/) over its ID Graph with non-consensual profiles of "hundreds of millions of people." This week the FTC [sued](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/08/ftc-sues-kochava-selling-data-tracks-people-reproductive-health-clinics-places-worship-other?ref=nearmedia.co) data broker (not meal replacement company) Kochava for selling location data captured from "hundreds of millions of mobile devices." Like many other location-data brokers, Kochava buys data from app developers and resells it. The FTC alleges two problems: the data was resold without user knowledge/consent and it's effectively PII. This week the FTC also sued [Roomster](https://www.roomster.com/?ref=nearmedia.co), a room-rental listings service. The company allegedly deceived consumers with fake rental listings and fake reviews (for the app). It also sued the paid-review broker Roomster worked with. Both these actions reflect a new, tougher enforcement approach being taken at the FTC ([see also](https://www.nearmedia.co/ftc-drops-a-4-2-review-abuse-fine/), Fashion Nova). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/tingey-injury-law-firm-nSpj-Z12lX0-unsplash.jpg) Source: Photo by [Tingey Injury Law Firm](https://unsplash.com/@tingeyinjurylawfirm?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText)/[Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/legal?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText) **Our take:** - Consent is a major problem and existential threat to data brokers. Thus they're aggressively [lobbying to derail/dilute privacy](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/28/privacy-bill-triggers-lobbying-surge-by-data-brokers-00052958?ref=nearmedia.co) legislation. - It's not clear if Kochava could have addressed the FTC's complaints – further "anonymization" and user consent verification? - The FTC can't stamp out review fraud vendors. Only "scary intense" settlements and buyer punishments will kill demand. ### Google Wants Your Inventory US [e-commerce](https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec%5Fcurrent.pdf?ref=nearmedia.co) grew 7.4% YoY and 9% sequentially to $252.1 billion in Q2\. In Q1 it was \~14% of total retail; in Q2 it was 14.5%. E-commerce [partisans](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/quarterly-online-sales/?ref=nearmedia.co) like to exclude certain categories of consumer spending and so argue the "real" number is now above 20%. More interesting than that debate is what's going on with live inventory and click and collect/BOPIS. Ulta Beauty reported that in Q2 click and collect accounted for 25% of the company's online sales. But when ship from store and same day fulfillment (from stores) are included that number [goes up](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/08/29/bopis-accounts-for-a-quarter-of-ulta-ecommerce-sales/?ref=nearmedia.co) to "more than a third" of digital sales. This is the most interesting story in retail right now. It includes real-time inventory, which Google continues to push (see [GBP in-store products update](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?ref=nearmedia.co#zippy=%2Cproducts)), as part of its strategy against Amazon. And we now know that [product inventory improves local search visibility](https://www.nearmedia.co/local-product-visibility-yelp-selling-its-data-74-of-shoes-sold-online/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-31-at-9.32.27-AM.png) Source: US Census Bureau **Our take:** - Click and collect, which requires live inventory, is growing faster than overall e-commerce. It's a true online-offline hybrid. - Accelerated by COVID, it's helping drive the evolution of stores and their reimagining for retail brands. - Roughly 15 years in the making, Google will continue to incentivize live inventory. Consumers want it and Google wins, the more it has. ### Ethics & Efficacy of AI Content There's a fast-emerging [debate](https://venturebeat.com/ai/coauthor-stanford-experiments-with-human-ai-collaborative-writing/?ref=nearmedia.co) about the ethics and efficacy of AI-content creation. This week, DALL-E 2 alternative Stable Diffusion released its [AI image creation tool](https://huggingface.co/spaces/stabilityai/stable-diffusion?ref=nearmedia.co). Text-to-image tools are amazing, if imperfect. There are concerns about [copyright](https://kotaku.com/ai-art-dall-e-midjourney-stable-diffusion-copyright-1849388060?ref=nearmedia.co) and [bias](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23023538/ai-dalle-2-openai-bias-gpt-3-incentives?ref=nearmedia.co). But the technology is "disruptive" and may impact stock photo/graphics businesses and human artists. Similarly AI content writing tools are disruptive – content creation is expensive and [AI makes it cheaper and faster](https://searchengineland.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-ai-content-writing-tools-387519??ref=nearmedia.co). AI writing has dramatically improved and is increasingly being adopted (see [news](https://medium.com/partnership-on-ai/how-will-ai-change-local-news-in-the-next-5-years-277183df9b72?ref=nearmedia.co)). Marketers will almost be compelled to use these capabilities, although so far Google [has said](https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-generated-content-spam-383454?ref=nearmedia.co) that AI-written content is spam. But enforcement may get more difficult over time, especially if there's some light human intervention. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-31-at-9.10.23-AM.png) Source: Stable Diffusion **Our take:** - Google is worried about SERPs full of machine-generated content for SEO – soulless, cynical and superficial – driving users away. - Some have argued that Google shouldn't dismiss AI-generated content and any evaluation of quality should be case by case. - There's no going back; we now need rules that make sense. More and more content/art will be AI generated or aided. ## Recent Analysis - ****Near Memo, episode 79:** [Shopify influencer matchmaking, Google’s Helpful Content Update, why now? Google’s AI-first approach is flawed](https://www.nearmedia.co/ep-79/). ## Short Takes - Is **Google's** ["quick read" label](https://brodieclark.com/notes/?ref=nearmedia.co#aug-2022)for Gen Z users fleeing to TikTok? - Google asking for [more detail/sub-reviews](https://www.seroundtable.com/subreviews-google-local-reviews-33997.html?ref=nearmedia.co) from **Local Guides**. - **Google Posts** "[rejected" but still showing up](https://twitter.com/mblumenthal/status/1564712176903938048?ref=nearmedia.co) on GBPs. - **Black-owned attribute** [didn't actually help](https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/08/29/black-owned-restaurants-disproportionately-impacted-during-pandemic/?ref=nearmedia.co) black-owned SMBs. - **Snap** [loses](https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/30/23329583/snaps-chief-business-officer-is-leaving-to-run-ads-at-netflix??ref=nearmedia.co) two top ad execs to **Netflix**, plans to [lay off 20%](https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/30/23329301/snap-layoffs-20-percent-employees-snapchat?ref=nearmedia.co). - **Twitter** was about to ape OnlyFans but was [derailed by CSAM](https://www.theverge.com/23327809/twitter-onlyfans-child-sexual-content-problem-elon-musk?ref=nearmedia.co). - **Twitter Circle** [launches](https://blog.twitter.com/en%5Fus/topics/product/2022/introducing-twitter-circle-new-way-tweet-smaller-crowd?ref=nearmedia.co), allowing non-public group tweets. - House **Antitrust** Chair Cicilline: [AICOA will see vote](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-08-22/antitrust-chair-cicilline-on-big-tech-bill-in-limbo-video??ref=nearmedia.co) in September. - New CA **social media child safety** law [will face legal challenges](https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-08-30/california-lawmakers-pass-new-social-media-protections-for-minors?ref=nearmedia.co). - France using **Google AI** [to detect unreported swimming pools](https://gizmodo.com/ai-taxes-france-swimming-pools-1849470533?ref=nearmedia.co). - **WhatsApp's** "super app" future [may be unfolding in India](https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/29/23326687/whatsapp-jiomart-india-super-app-grocery-shopping?ref=nearmedia.co). - Yellow Cab 2.0: Slow, [persistent decline](https://sfstandard.com/technology/san-francisco-birthplace-of-ridehailing-becomes-the-center-of-its-decline/?ref=nearmedia.co) of **Uber and Lyft**. - Selling as education: **Amazon's** turn to do a [small business summit](https://business.amazon.com/en/events/small-business-summit?ref=nearmedia.co). - Soft housing market [impacting](https://apnews.com/article/inflation-new-york-charlotte-small-business-2e93e168b057c12843051baac6602968?ref=nearmedia.co) **SMB** home services providers. Listen to our [latest podcast](https://www.nearmedia.co/memo/). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/near_memo_banner.png)](https://nearmedia.co/memo?ref=nearmedia.co) How can we make this better? Email [us](mailto:gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.