In today’s digest, we cover Google launching Offerwall to boost publisher revenue, IAB launching a framework to standardise gaming ad metrics, Apple changing EU App Store terms with a new fee structure, and Apple and Google being told to drop the DeepSeek app by a German watchdog. We also discuss Meta facing potential daily fines over pay-or-consent model.

Google Launches Offerwall to Boost Publisher Revenue 

As generative AI tools continue to erode search referral traffic to publishers, Google has launched Offerwall, a monetisation solution designed to give media owners alternative revenue streams beyond traditional advertising. Offerwall allows publishers to present users with a range of content access options, including micropayments, ad views, surveys, signing up for newsletters and many more. 

The tool is now available free of charge in Google Ad Manager, following a year-long pilot with over 1,000 publishers. To optimise performance, Google is using AI to determine the ideal moment to surface the Offerwall for each visitor. 

IAB Launches Framework to Standardise Gaming Ad Metrics

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has launched its Gaming Measurement Framework, a new industry tool designed to bring clarity, consistency, and confidence to advertising in gaming environments. As gaming becomes a key channel for consumer attention and brand engagement, the framework introduces standardised ad formats across display, video, audio, and custom media types. It also defines core (baseline) and advanced (nice-to-have) metrics for each format, giving advertisers the clarity to evaluate outcomes, interrogate partner performance, and optimise investment strategies.

The framework aims to equip advertisers with the tools, transparency, and clarity needed to identify measurable outcomes, ask the right questions of their partners, and make more informed investment decisions. By introducing a common measurement language across publishers, agencies, and ad tech vendors, it also simplifies campaign comparison and helps build trust in gaming as a credible, results-driven advertising channel.

Apple Changes EU App Store Terms with New Fee Structure

Apple introduced a new set of developer policy changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), just before the 26 June deadline, to avoid further regulatory penalties. The updates impact how developers engage users and the fees Apple imposes. It follows a €500m (£422m) fine for earlier non-compliance and aims to address both in-app payment restrictions and developer fees.

Under the revised “anti-steering” rules, EU developers can now direct users to alternative payment options across multiple channels including websites, other apps, and within their own apps without mandatory warning screens or prescriptive Apple texts.

Rather than eliminating the controversial Core Technology Fee (CTF), Apple has opted for a more complex fee model. It now includes a 2% acquisition fee and a store services fee of either 13% or 5%, depending on developer tier. 

Apple, Google Told to Drop DeepSeek App by German Watchdog

Apple and Google have been warned that the Chinese AI chatbot app DeepSeek, available on their app stores, is illegal under local data protection laws by a leading German privacy regulator. The Berlin data protection commissioner, Meike Kamp, issued the warning after the app allegedly failed to comply with earlier demands to either withdraw from German app stores or implement adequate safeguards to protect user data.

According to Kamp, DeepSeek transmits user data to China without offering users enforceable rights or legal remedies that are standard under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Kamp also said that “DeepSeek users don’t have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies available to them in China, like they’re guaranteed in the European Union.”

Meta Faces Potential Daily Fines Over Pay-or-Consent Model

Meta is facing potential daily fines from the EU over its pay-or-consent model, if the limited changes it has proposed fail to comply with an antitrust order issued in April, regulators have warned. According to Reuters, the European Commission can’t yet confirm whether these changes are “sufficient to comply with the main parameters of compliance outlined in its non-compliance Decision”.  

This follows Meta already having received a fine of €200m (£170m) for breaching the bloc’s new rules under the Digital Markets Act.  

Meta’s pay-or-consent model has been under significant scrutiny from the EU for failing to give users a free way to reject targeted advertising.