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Now it\u2019s Mastercard\u2019s turn, Adweek<\/a> reports. The company just launched Mastercard Commerce Media, an ad network spanning its properties and publishing partners based on some 500 million enrolled cardholders.<\/p>\n Mastercard\u2019s publisher network isn\u2019t exactly the web, \u00e0 la Google\u2019s or Meta\u2019s respective audience networks. Its inventory partners feature the likes of airlines, banks and retailers that already have strategic partnerships with Mastercard as well as their own retail media-ish businesses.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that Mastercard doesn\u2019t have interesting inventory of its own. But there\u2019s a strong selling point for its data. One of the main hangups for retail media is that retailers possess great data but only for their own business. Credit card companies and general purchase processors can see across stores, sites and apps \u2013\u00a0basically, wherever transactions happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ad-ificial Intelligence\u00a0<\/p>\n Water is wet, the Pope is from Chicago, and Meta is planning to sell targeted ads based on people\u2019s prompts and interactions with its AI chatbot products.<\/p>\n The change is not immediate. TechCrunch<\/a> reports that Meta plans to update its privacy policy by December 16 and begin notifying users \u201cin the coming days.\u201d The policy updates also won\u2019t apply to users in certain markets based on national privacy laws, such as in South Korea, the UK and across the EU bloc.<\/p>\n However, the update will affect AI product offerings beyond just Meta AI, according to what company spokesperson Emil Vazquez tells TechCrunch. For instance, Meta is explicitly leaving open the possibility of targeting ads to users based on audio, images and video collected via Meta\u2019s Ray-Ban smart glasses.<\/p>\n What\u2019s off the table, though, according to Christy Harris, a Meta privacy policy manager, is targeting ads based on \u201csensitive topics\u201d like religion, health and politics. Yet it was only four months ago that many Meta AI users were shocked to learn that the app publicized their prompt histories on a \u201cDiscover\u201d feed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s spokesperson also confirms that there\u2019s no way to opt out of sharing data with the company\u2019s AI products.<\/p>\n Post Mortem<\/p>\n The Washington Post\u2019s subscription business has flatlined \u2013 actually, downlined would be more accurate \u2013 since owner Jeff Bezos started taking a heavier hand in its editorial direction several years ago.<\/p>\n In 2023, Bezos hired a new publisher, Will Lewis, who pivoted WaPo\u2019s coverage in a more conservative direction<\/a> and offered buyouts<\/a>. A near exodus of prominent writers prompted a fresh wave of subscription cancellations.<\/p>\n And after Bezos spiked WaPo\u2019s endorsement of former VP Kamala Harris, the company lost 250,000 digital subscribers<\/a> \u2013 10% of its total.<\/p>\n Print is an even bigger disaster, with WaPo\u2019s daily circulation now at 97,000 newspapers per day on average, according to the Alliance for Audited Media<\/a>. That\u2019s fewer than in 1970.<\/p>\n These trends all put pressure on digital advertising \u2013\u00a0and now WaPo Ad Chief Johanna Mayer-Jones, who joined in 2023, is plotting her exit, reports Oliver Darcy at Status<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mayer-Jones has kept the ad dollars flowing despite the newspaper\u2019s drops in circulation, Darcy writes. But, while WaPo denies plans for her departure, Darcy claims Mayer-Jones has explored other roles and was recently a finalist for CNN\u2019s top ad sales position.<\/p>\n If Mayer-Jones departs, Darcy adds, \u201cit would deal a significant blow to The Post at precisely the wrong moment.\u201d<\/p>\n But Wait! There\u2019s More!<\/p>\n Zeta acquires Marigold\u2019s enterprise software business for $325 million. [Business Insider<\/a>]<\/p>\n People, Inc. acquires food publisher and creator network Feedfeed for an undisclosed price. [Axios<\/a>]<\/p>\n Google is blocking AI search results for \u201cTrump\u201d and \u201cdementia.\u201d [The Verge<\/a>]<\/p>\n NPR marked Wednesday as the \u201cfirst day in [US] public media\u2019s history without federal funding.\u201d [Instagram<\/a>]<\/p>\n A stray bullet knocked tens of thousands of people in Texas offline after hitting one of Spectrum\u2019s fiber optic cables outside Dallas. [404 Media<\/a>]<\/p>\n Here\u2019s today\u2019s AdExchanger.com news round-up\u2026 Want it by email? Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t