A report from an advertisement research firm has claimed that dozens of advertisers using TrueView, Google advertisement product, may not be getting what they paid for and that Google may have misled them about the viewership, reported The Guardian.

TrueView is Google's proprietary ad product that displays advertisements on YouTube and other apps on the internet.

The user can skip the ad after five seconds. The advertisers get charged if the user watches the ad for 30 seconds or throughout if the length of the ad&nbsp;is less than 30 seconds. Whether audio is playing or not is also important.

Guardian cited a report by Adalytics, an advertisement research firm, which said that advertisers may not be getting what they paid for.

Watch | Millions of Android users at risk as dangerous spyware found in over 100 apps on Google Play

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The firm reportedly reviewed ad campaigns of more than 1000 brands across the internet. It found that TrueView ads did not meet Google's own guidelines. The firm reportedly found that some ads were run in small video players in the corner or at the side of the screen. They were fully muted and had no video content.

The websites running muted ads, included 'NYTimes, Reuters, Wired, Mashable and Gizmodo' as reported by The Guardian.

Adalytics has said that mis-identified adverstising has been running since 2020.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/firing-season-continues-google-lays-off-employees-at-its-mapping-app-waze-609587">Firing season continues: Google lays off employees at its mapping app Waze</a>

Google has rejected findings of the report. In a blog post, Google's director of global video solutions, Marvin Renaud has denied that Adalytics' findings were accurate. He said that the report contained “extremely inaccurate claims”. He further said that advertisers pay for ads only when they were being viewed.

“We use real-time ad quality signals to determine if people are present and paying attention that help us decide whether to serve a video ad in a Google Video Partner site or app,” he said.

Renaud stressed that Google monitors adherence to its policies and stops serving ads on over 143,000 websites after it found they were in violation.

He also added that report incorrectly claimed that most of ad campaigns are run on third-party sites rather than YouTube and said the opposite is true. 
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A report from an advertisement research firm has claimed that dozens of advertisers using TrueView, Google advertisement product, may not be getting what they paid for and that Google may have misled them about the viewership, reported The Guardian.

A report from an advertisement research firm has claimed that dozens of advertisers using TrueView, Google advertisement product, may not be getting what they paid for and that Google may have misled them about the viewership, reported The Guardian. TrueView is Google's proprietary ad product that displays advertisements on YouTube and other apps on the internet. The user can skip the ad after five seconds. The advertisers get charged if the user watches the ad for 30 seconds or throughout if the length of the ad is less than 30 seconds. Whether audio is playing or not is also important. Guardian cited a report by Adalytics, an advertisement research firm, which said that advertisers may not be getting what they paid for. Watch | Millions of Android users at risk as dangerous spyware found in over 100 apps on Google Play × The firm reportedly reviewed ad campaigns of more than 1000 brands across the internet. It found that TrueView ads did not meet Google's own guidelines. The firm reportedly found that some ads were run in small video players in the corner or at the side of the screen. They were fully muted and had no video content. The websites running muted ads, included 'NYTimes, Reuters, Wired, Mashable and Gizmodo' as reported by The Guardian. Adalytics has said that mis-identified adverstising has been running since 2020. Also Read | Firing season continues: Google lays off employees at its mapping app Waze Google has rejected findings of the report. In a blog post, Google's director of global video solutions, Marvin Renaud has denied that Adalytics' findings were accurate. He said that the report contained “extremely inaccurate claims”. He further said that advertisers pay for ads only when they were being viewed. “We use real-time ad quality signals to determine if people are present and paying attention that help us decide whether to serve a video ad in a Google Video Partner site or app,” he said. Renaud stressed that Google monitors adherence to its policies and stops serving ads on over 143,000 websites after it found they were in violation. He also added that report incorrectly claimed that most of ad campaigns are run on third-party sites rather than YouTube and said the opposite is true. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Google possibly misled dozens of advertisers about viewership, says report

Alphabet Inc`s Google will change procedures before July for reviewing its scientists` work, according to a town hall recording heard by Reuters, part of an effort to quell internal tumult over the integrity of its artificial intelligence (AI) research.

In remarks at a staff meeting last Friday, Google Research executives said they were working to regain trust after the company ousted two prominent women and rejected their work, according to an hour-long recording, the content of which was confirmed by two sources.

Teams are already trialing a questionnaire that will assess projects for risk and help scientists navigate reviews, research unit Chief Operating Officer Maggie Johnson said in the meeting. This initial change will roll out by the end of the second quarter, and the majority of papers will not require extra vetting, she said.

Reuters reported in December that Google had introduced a "sensitive topics" review for studies involving dozens of issues, such as China or bias in its services. Internal reviewers had demanded that at least three papers on AI be modified to refrain from casting Google technology in a negative light, Reuters reported.

Jeff Dean, Google`s senior vice president overseeing the division, said Friday that the "sensitive topics" review "is and was confusing" and that he had tasked a senior research director, Zoubin Ghahramani, with clarifying the rules, according to the recording.

Ghahramani, a University of Cambridge professor who joined Google in September from Uber Technologies Inc, said during the town hall, "We need to be comfortable with that discomfort" of self-critical research. 
Google declined to comment on the Friday meeting.

An internal email, seen by Reuters, offered fresh detail on Google researchers` concerns, showing exactly how Google`s legal department had modified one of the three AI papers, called "Extracting Training Data from Large Language Models."

The email, dated Feb. 8, from a co-author of the paper, Nicholas Carlini, went to hundreds of colleagues, seeking to draw their attention to what he called "deeply insidious" edits by company lawyers.

"Let`s be clear here," the roughly 1,200-word email said. "When we as academics write that we have a `concern` or find something `worrying` and a Google lawyer requires that we change it to sound nicer, this is very much Big Brother stepping in."

Required edits, according to his email, included "negative-to-neutral" swaps such as changing the word "concerns" to "considerations," and "dangers" to "risks." Lawyers also required deleting references to Google technology; the authors` finding that AI leaked copyrighted content; and the words "breach" and "sensitive," the email said.

Carlini did not respond to requests for comment. Google in answer to questions about the email disputed its contention that lawyers were trying to control the paper`s tone. The company said it had no issues with the topics investigated by the paper, but it found some legal terms used inaccurately and conducted a thorough edit as a result.

RACIAL EQUITY AUDIT

Google last week also named Marian Croak, a pioneer in internet audio technology and one of Google`s few Black vice presidents, to consolidate and manage 10 teams studying issues such as racial bias in algorithms and technology for disabled individuals.

Croak said at Friday`s meeting that it would take time to address concerns among AI ethics researchers and mitigate damage to Google`s brand.

"Please hold me fully responsible for trying to turn around that situation," she said on the recording.

Johnson added that the AI organization is bringing in a consulting firm for a wide-ranging racial equity impact assessment. The first-of-its-kind audit for the department would lead to recommendations "that are going to be pretty hard," she said.

Tensions in Dean`s division had deepened in December after Google let go of Timnit Gebru, co-lead of its ethical AI research team, following her refusal to retract a paper on language-generating AI. Gebru, who is Black, accused the company at the time of reviewing her work differently because of her identity and of marginalizing employees from underrepresented backgrounds. Nearly 2,700 employees signed an open letter in support of Gebru.&nbsp;

During the town hall, Dean elaborated on what scholarship the company would support.

"We want responsible AI and ethical AI investigations," Dean said, giving the example of studying technology`s environmental costs. But it is problematic to cite data "off by close to a factor of a hundred" while ignoring more accurate statistics as well as Google`s efforts to reduce emissions, he said. Dean previously has criticized Gebru`s paper for not including important findings on environmental impact.

Gebru defended her paper`s citation. "It`s a really bad look for Google to come out this defensively against a paper that was cited by so many of their peer institutions," she told Reuters.

Employees continued to post about their frustrations over the last month on Twitter as Google investigated and then fired ethical AI co-lead Margaret Mitchell for moving electronic files outside the company. Mitchell said on Twitter that she acted "to raise concerns about race &amp; gender inequity, and speak up about Google`s problematic firing of Dr. Gebru."

Mitchell had collaborated on the paper that prompted Gebru`s departure, and a version that published online last month without Google affiliation named "Shmargaret Shmitchell" as a co-author. (https://bit.ly/3kmXwKW)

Asked for comment, Mitchell expressed through an attorney disappointment in Dean`s critique of the paper and said her name was removed following a company order.

Alphabet Inc`s Google will change procedures before July for reviewing its scientists` work, according to a town hall recording heard by Reuters, part of an effort to quell internal tumult over the integrity of its artificial intelligence (AI) research.

Alphabet Inc`s Google will change procedures before July for reviewing its scientists` work, according to a town hall recording heard by Reuters, part of an effort to quell internal tumult over the integrity of its artificial intelligence (AI) research. In remarks at a staff meeting last Friday, Google Research executives said they were working to regain trust after the company ousted two prominent women and rejected their work, according to an hour-long recording, the content of which was confirmed by two sources. Teams are already trialing a questionnaire that will assess projects for risk and help scientists navigate reviews, research unit Chief Operating Officer Maggie Johnson said in the meeting. This initial change will roll out by the end of the second quarter, and the majority of papers will not require extra vetting, she said. Reuters reported in December that Google had introduced a "sensitive topics" review for studies involving dozens of issues, such as China or bias in its services. Internal reviewers had demanded that at least three papers on AI be modified to refrain from casting Google technology in a negative light, Reuters reported. Jeff Dean, Google`s senior vice president overseeing the division, said Friday that the "sensitive topics" review "is and was confusing" and that he had tasked a senior research director, Zoubin Ghahramani, with clarifying the rules, according to the recording. Ghahramani, a University of Cambridge professor who joined Google in September from Uber Technologies Inc, said during the town hall, "We need to be comfortable with that discomfort" of self-critical research. Google declined to comment on the Friday meeting. An internal email, seen by Reuters, offered fresh detail on Google researchers` concerns, showing exactly how Google`s legal department had modified one of the three AI papers, called "Extracting Training Data from Large Language Models." The email, dated Feb. 8, from a co-author of the paper, Nicholas Carlini, went to hundreds of colleagues, seeking to draw their attention to what he called "deeply insidious" edits by company lawyers. "Let`s be clear here," the roughly 1,200-word email said. "When we as academics write that we have a `concern` or find something `worrying` and a Google lawyer requires that we change it to sound nicer, this is very much Big Brother stepping in." Required edits, according to his email, included "negative-to-neutral" swaps such as changing the word "concerns" to "considerations," and "dangers" to "risks." Lawyers also required deleting references to Google technology; the authors` finding that AI leaked copyrighted content; and the words "breach" and "sensitive," the email said. Carlini did not respond to requests for comment. Google in answer to questions about the email disputed its contention that lawyers were trying to control the paper`s tone. The company said it had no issues with the topics investigated by the paper, but it found some legal terms used inaccurately and conducted a thorough edit as a result. RACIAL EQUITY AUDIT Google last week also named Marian Croak, a pioneer in internet audio technology and one of Google`s few Black vice presidents, to consolidate and manage 10 teams studying issues such as racial bias in algorithms and technology for disabled individuals. Croak said at Friday`s meeting that it would take time to address concerns among AI ethics researchers and mitigate damage to Google`s brand. "Please hold me fully responsible for trying to turn around that situation," she said on the recording. Johnson added that the AI organization is bringing in a consulting firm for a wide-ranging racial equity impact assessment. The first-of-its-kind audit for the department would lead to recommendations "that are going to be pretty hard," she said. Tensions in Dean`s division had deepened in December after Google let go of Timnit Gebru, co-lead of its ethical AI research team, following her refusal to retract a paper on language-generating AI. Gebru, who is Black, accused the company at the time of reviewing her work differently because of her identity and of marginalizing employees from underrepresented backgrounds. Nearly 2,700 employees signed an open letter in support of Gebru. During the town hall, Dean elaborated on what scholarship the company would support. "We want responsible AI and ethical AI investigations," Dean said, giving the example of studying technology`s environmental costs. But it is problematic to cite data "off by close to a factor of a hundred" while ignoring more accurate statistics as well as Google`s efforts to reduce emissions, he said. Dean previously has criticized Gebru`s paper for not including important findings on environmental impact. Gebru defended her paper`s citation. "It`s a really bad look for Google to come out this defensively against a paper that was cited by so many of their peer institutions," she told Reuters. Employees continued to post about their frustrations over the last month on Twitter as Google investigated and then fired ethical AI co-lead Margaret Mitchell for moving electronic files outside the company. Mitchell said on Twitter that she acted "to raise concerns about race & gender inequity, and speak up about Google`s problematic firing of Dr. Gebru." Mitchell had collaborated on the paper that prompted Gebru`s departure, and a version that published online last month without Google affiliation named "Shmargaret Shmitchell" as a co-author. (https://bit.ly/3kmXwKW) Asked for comment, Mitchell expressed through an attorney disappointment in Dean`s critique of the paper and said her name was removed following a company order.

Google pledges changes to research oversight after internal revolt

Google&nbsp;must open talks with publishers in France about paying to use their content, an appeals court confirmed on Thursday, paving the way for an industry-wide deal in the country&nbsp;in a long-running dispute about revenues from online news.

The ruling came as the US internet giant announced it was close to a deal on compensating French media groups for news shown in&nbsp;Google&nbsp;search results.

Such a deal would represent a climbdown by&nbsp;Google, which has so far refused to comply with new EU rules giving more copyright protection to media firms for news displayed on search engines and social media.

France was the first European country to ratify the law, which&nbsp;could act as a lifeline to newspaper groups grappling with shrinking print sales.

In April, the French competition authority ordered&nbsp;Google&nbsp;to negotiate with the press in good faith,&nbsp;a ruling it appealed, accusing the authority of overstepping its jurisdiction.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/us-supreme-court-puzzled-over-google-oracle-high-tech-copyright-clash-333473" hreflang="en">US Supreme Court puzzled over Google, Oracle high tech copyright clash</a>

Google&nbsp;argues it should not have to pay to display items produced by news companies&nbsp;since they benefit by receiving millions of visits to their websites.

The French court's decision differs from last week's pledge by&nbsp;Google&nbsp;to pay $1 billion to publishers globally over the next three years for their news, as the French arrangement involves finding a sustainable methodology to remunerate publishers and news agencies.

Google's vehicle to remunerate news publishers, dubbed&nbsp;Google&nbsp;News Showcase, is set to launch in Germany, where it has signed up German newspapers including Der Spiegel, Stern, Die Zeit, and in Brazil with Folha de S.Paulo, Band and Infobae.

The French court's ruling comes hours after&nbsp;Google, the world's biggest search engine, said it was set to reach with a deal to pay French publishers for their news, the latest move to placate media groups and head off regulators siding with publishers.

"Our priority remains to reach an agreement with the French publishers and press agencies,"&nbsp;Google&nbsp;said in a statement.

"We appealed to get legal clarity on some parts of the order, and we will now review the decision of the Paris court of appeal."

The ruling confirms a decision in April by France's competition authority, which ordered&nbsp;Google&nbsp;to negotiate with publishers and news agencies "the remuneration due to them for any re-use of protected content".

Under the same decision, the antitrust regulator ordered&nbsp;Google&nbsp;to open talks within three months of being asked to do so by publishers.

Google must open talks with publishers in France about paying to use their content, an appeals court confirmed on Thursday, paving the way for an industry-wide deal in the country in a long-running dispute about revenues from online news.

Google must open talks with publishers in France about paying to use their content, an appeals court confirmed on Thursday, paving the way for an industry-wide deal in the country in a long-running dispute about revenues from online news. The ruling came as the US internet giant announced it was close to a deal on compensating French media groups for news shown in Google search results. Such a deal would represent a climbdown by Google, which has so far refused to comply with new EU rules giving more copyright protection to media firms for news displayed on search engines and social media. France was the first European country to ratify the law, which could act as a lifeline to newspaper groups grappling with shrinking print sales. In April, the French competition authority ordered Google to negotiate with the press in good faith, a ruling it appealed, accusing the authority of overstepping its jurisdiction. Also read: US Supreme Court puzzled over Google, Oracle high tech copyright clash Google argues it should not have to pay to display items produced by news companies since they benefit by receiving millions of visits to their websites. The French court's decision differs from last week's pledge by Google to pay $1 billion to publishers globally over the next three years for their news, as the French arrangement involves finding a sustainable methodology to remunerate publishers and news agencies. Google's vehicle to remunerate news publishers, dubbed Google News Showcase, is set to launch in Germany, where it has signed up German newspapers including Der Spiegel, Stern, Die Zeit, and in Brazil with Folha de S.Paulo, Band and Infobae. The French court's ruling comes hours after Google, the world's biggest search engine, said it was set to reach with a deal to pay French publishers for their news, the latest move to placate media groups and head off regulators siding with publishers. "Our priority remains to reach an agreement with the French publishers and press agencies," Google said in a statement. "We appealed to get legal clarity on some parts of the order, and we will now review the decision of the Paris court of appeal." The ruling confirms a decision in April by France's competition authority, which ordered Google to negotiate with publishers and news agencies "the remuneration due to them for any re-use of protected content". Under the same decision, the antitrust regulator ordered Google to open talks within three months of being asked to do so by publishers.

Now, French court asks Google to pay publishers for their content

Tech giant Google on Friday sparked a row of criticism recently as it experimented with the search result design. As part of their mid-January desktop redesign, the company blurred the line between ads and search results and made paid links look like unpaid results.

Typically, the word "Ad" appears in the bold text next to the advertisements. They are listed first when a user searches something, therefore more likely to be clicked on and generate ad revenue for Google.

After the row, the company on Friday said that it is going redesign the search result change for desktops.

The latest report comes as Google was fined $167 million by France recently for unclear advertising linked to web searches and resorting to anti-competitive behaviour.

In December, &nbsp;the French authority asked Google to clarify the operating rules of its Google Ads advertising platform and the procedures for suspending the accounts of certain advertisers.

The competition body also sought clear rules from Google and said that it could not be applied in "an erratic way".

In March 2019, the European Commission had fined Google $1.7 billion for blocking rival online search advertisers. The European Commission had said that the anti-competitive practice had lasted a decade.

Tech giant Google on Friday sparked a row of criticism recently as it experimented with the search result design. As part of their mid-January desktop redesign, the company blurred the line between ads and search results and made paid links look like unpaid results.

Tech giant Google on Friday sparked a row of criticism recently as it experimented with the search result design. As part of their mid-January desktop redesign, the company blurred the line between ads and search results and made paid links look like unpaid results. Typically, the word "Ad" appears in the bold text next to the advertisements. They are listed first when a user searches something, therefore more likely to be clicked on and generate ad revenue for Google. After the row, the company on Friday said that it is going redesign the search result change for desktops. The latest report comes as Google was fined $167 million by France recently for unclear advertising linked to web searches and resorting to anti-competitive behaviour. In December, the French authority asked Google to clarify the operating rules of its Google Ads advertising platform and the procedures for suspending the accounts of certain advertisers. The competition body also sought clear rules from Google and said that it could not be applied in "an erratic way". In March 2019, the European Commission had fined Google $1.7 billion for blocking rival online search advertisers. The European Commission had said that the anti-competitive practice had lasted a decade.

Google sparks criticism as it redesigns search page; makes ads look like organic results

France's competition authority on Friday fined Google 150 million euros for anti-competitive behaviour and for having unclear advertising on the Google Ads page. #Google #France #WION

Google fined by France over power misuse during advertisements' treatment