Never before has a database been so exciting

Lawyers are dropping documents ahead of the big Google monopoly trial next month, and we’re hard at work making them accessible and giving them context on our US v Google microsite. 

First up: The witness list! What the courts got: A list of names.

What YOU get: Names! Jobs! Work history! Who they’ll be a witness for! Their areas of expertise! And more!

I expect to reference it a lot once the trial is underway and I’m left going “Who the heck is this guy?” Check it out here. 

Is there anything you’d like explained ahead of the trial? Let us know at [email protected] or [email protected].

The end of GARM is a reset, not a setback  

GARM’s death is an opportunity to rethink the ad industry’s broken approach to brand safety, Director of Intelligence Arielle Garcia wrote for AdExchanger.

“The WFA’s decision to shutter GARM sets a dangerous precedent for succumbing to bullies. But advertisers won’t let Musk’s bullying shake them,” Arielle wrote. “They will quietly stand firm in their right to adopt standards that meet their own needs and to decide what’s best for their brands and their businesses, now more than ever.”

Bonus thoughts in The Drum on the whole GARM/X thing: Will Trump’s return to X exacerbate the platform’s brand safety issues?

More on brand safety in the wake of this month’s Adalytics report: Is complete brand safety realistic?

If I were Google I would simply follow my rule to not target teens, but I’m built different

ICYMI last week, a Financial Times report alleged that Google and Meta were knowingly targeting teens with Instagram ads — which would definitely be against both of those companies’ policies. They shut the program down after the FT started asking questions about it. A very normal response! Send investigative reporter Rachel's video explaining this story to your friends. 

Claire ate gluten free churros 

Claire ate Gluten free churros. That’s it. That’s the news item.

Well, that and she was a keynote speaker at this week’s AdMonsters Publishers Forum, where she spoke on how brands can protect themselves from the business of disinformation.

Check out some photos from the event here (but no photos of the churros, what’s up with that, Claire?)

And if you happen to be a journalist and in Boston, did you know Claire is participating in a FREE investigations workshop on Monday? It’s not too late to sign up

That’s all from us for this week. Have a safe weekend!

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