This week, AI investment surged, regulators tightened their grip on tech platforms, and advertising giants doubled down on data-driven growth strategies. In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover the SPUR Coalition welcoming 30 new members at the World News Media Congress, and Peer39 strengthening its verification offering through a deal with Adloox, and Malaysia’s under-16 social media ban taking effect on 1st June.

Regulatory scrutiny was once again a defining theme of the week. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered Google to give publishers greater control over how their content is used in AI-generated search experiences. Under the proposed measures, publishers would gain more transparency around content usage, access to performance data, and the ability to opt out of having their material appear in AI-generated results.

Meanwhile, the global AI funding race continued to accelerate. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is reportedly close to securing its first external funding round, raising more than 50bn yuan at a valuation approaching USD$60bn (£47.4bn). 

The UK advertising industry also had reason to celebrate. New figures from the Advertising Association and Credos show advertising exports reached a record £19.4bn in 2025, cementing the UK's position as the world's second-largest exporter of advertising services. 

Elsewhere, AI is becoming increasingly embedded in everyday digital experiences. Tencent is reportedly preparing to launch an AI agent within WeChat, enabling users to complete tasks through conversational prompts. If approved by regulators, the feature could bring advanced AI capabilities to one of the world's most widely used consumer apps.

The advertising ecosystem also saw several notable developments. Amazon Publisher Services expanded its Signal IQ platform, giving publishers deeper insight into which bidstream signals actually drive advertiser demand and revenue. 

Retail media continued its rapid evolution as Walmart announced new partnerships with Yahoo and Magnite, broadening advertiser access to its retail data and connected TV inventory. The integrations strengthen Walmart’s ambitions to compete more aggressively with larger digital advertising platforms while leveraging the reach of Vizio, which it acquired in 2024.

Finally, Meta reaffirmed its commitment to platform governance by allocating an additional USD$13m (£10.27m) to its independent Oversight Board. The funding secures the board’s operations through at least 2028 and comes after reports that the company had considered winding down the initiative.