Facebook Glitch Charges Marketers for Unseen Ads; New UK Legislation to Ban Fake Reviews

by Hannah Dillon on 26th Apr 2023 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: a glitch in Facebook's ad system charges marketers for unseen ads; the UK's new Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Bill is set to ban fake reviews; and British chip manufacturer Arm prepares to develop its own semiconductor chips.

Facebook’s ad system charges for unseen ads

Social media platform Facebook accidentally charged advertisers for ads that no one saw following a system error. Meta temporarily suspended its ad system following the glitch and later confirmed it would follow its “normal refund process” for overcharged advertisers but did not divulge the cause of the issue. The ad system error comes just days after Meta announced another round of layoffs under its “year of efficiency”.

New UK legislation targets fake reviews

The UK government’s proposed Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill is set to make buying, selling, or posting fake reviews illegal. The bill, which has been in development since 2021 and aims to rein in the power of big tech firms, will ban people from receiving money or free products in exchange for writing positive reviews. The legislation will also obligate companies to remind customers when their free subscription trial comes to an end.

Arm to produce semiconductor chips in-house

Arm Ltd will build its own semiconductor chip as it seeks to impress potential customers ahead of its IPO. The British chipmaker has reportedly established a new “solutions engineering” team and will collaborate with manufacturing partners to develop prototypes for the chips, which are intended to highlight its products’ capabilities.