A look at how companies try to reach potential customers.
Advertising
How X Is Benefiting as Musk Advises Trump
X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has enjoyed a number of perks since Musk became omnipresent at President Trump’s side. Since the election, the platform has become a go-to source for administration information, as Musk provides real-time updates about his Department of Government Efficiency and targets for federal cost-cutting to his more than 219 million followers. In February, at least a dozen government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and Defense Department, established new DOGE-focused X accounts to seek tips about federal waste and fraud.
T-Mobile Upheld by National Advertising Division on Starlink Claim
T-Mobile has won a BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by Verizon, related to T-Mobile’s claim to be the “first and only” U.S. wireless provider to work with Starlink to provide satellite-powered text messaging. Fast-Track SWIFT challenges enable NAD to review single-issue advertising issues. In this case, a statement, made at T-Mobile’s website and in a LinkedIn post, said that “T-Mobile is the first and only U.S.
FTC Asks Court To Reject Challenge To Click-To-Cancel Rules
The Federal Trade Commission is asking a federal appellate court to reject advertising and business organizations' challenge to click-to-cancel rules that aim to let consumers easily terminate recurring subscriptions to newspapers, gyms, and other businesses. The agency's filing comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Michigan Press Association, NCTA -- The Internet & Television Association, Chamber of Commerce and other business groups that are seeking to invalidate the rules.
Meta is trying to ‘offload’ kids safety onto app stores with new bills, Google says
Meta has spent more than a year advocating for new laws requiring app stores to give parents control over kids’ app downloads, and just saw an early victory in the states.
Mobile Browsers and Cloud Gaming: Final decision report
The independent inquiry group appointed for this market investigation has found that a number of markets relating to browsers on mobile devices are not working well for consumers and businesses, which is holding back innovation and could be limiting growth in the UK. Mobile browsers are apps which provide the primary gateway for consumers to access the web on their mobile devices, and hence for businesses to reach them with their content and products.
Senators Raise Alarm About Reports of X Officials Leveraging Musk’s Government Position to Drive Ad Revenue
Five US Senators wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, raising concerns about reports that Elon Musk’s social media company “X” (formerly Twitter) is leveraging his influential position in the Trump Administration to extract revenue from advertisers. If Musk uses his government position to protect those who engage in business with him—or harm those who do not—then he risks running afoul of criminal ethics laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) would be responsible for investigating a potential criminal violation of federal ethics laws.
PBS and NPR on edge over FCC letter and Trump budget scrutiny
Forty years ago, the Reagan administration told PBS to find ways to increase funding for public television outside of taxpayer dollars. It did. PBS’ response to the challenge was to enhance the way it acknowledged sponsors. Instead of merely running a company logo before its programming, PBS let corporate underwriters place messages that looked more like standard commercials. That process helped sustain such programs as “Nova,” “Masterpiece” and Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentaries.
Google won't add fact checks despite new EU law
Google has told the European Union it will not add fact checks to search results and YouTube videos or use them in ranking o

FTC Finalizes Changes to Children’s Privacy Rule Limiting Companies’ Ability to Monetize Kids’ Data
The Federal Trade Commission finalized changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule to set new requirements around the collection, use and disclosure of children’s personal information and give parents new tools and protections to help them control what data is provided to third parties about their children. The final rule requires parents to opt in to third-party advertising and includes other changes to address the emerging ways that consumers’ data is collected and used by companies, and particularly how children’s data is being shared and monetized.
NAD Supports Charter Regarding “Unlimited” Spectrum Data Claims
Several of Charter Communications’ website advertising claims of its Spectrum Mobile “Unlimited” and “Unlimited Plus” wireless data plans are being supported by BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD). NAD’s finding, which was announced today, came after an initial challenge of those claims by Verizon.