News in brief: Paramount Faces Ad Targeting Lawsuit; Amazon Introduces AI-Powered Recaps; Snapchat Expands Retail Gift Cards 

Paramount Faces Ad Targeting Lawsuit

Paramount has been hit with a class action lawsuit over allegedly tracking their subscribers’ viewing history and sharing with Meta and TikTok in order to serve targeted ads. Filed by California resident Victor Cho, the lawsuit seeks a sum of at least USD$5m (£3.86m) in monetary damages on behalf of US subscribers. The lawsuit alleges a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits the disclosure of information about viewing habits. Other video giants such as Disney and Netflix have also been sued for violations of this law over the past decade. 

Amazon Prime Introduces AI-Powered Recaps

Elsewhere in the video landscape, Amazon has announced X-Ray Recaps, a new feature of Prime Video which harnesses generative AI to deliver users brief summaries of full seasons of full TV shows, single episodes and even parts of episodes, personalised up until the point a user has watched to. The summaries can be accessed at any time during a user’s viewing experience. Amazon describes the feature as “a new way to get up to speed without wasting time or risking spoilers”. The tech behind the new feature builds on Prime Video’s existing X-Ray features which give viewers more information about what they are watching, such as details regarding the cast, soundtrack and production details. 

Snapchat Expands Retail Gift Cards 

Lastly, with the Christmas season approaching, Snapchat is bolstering its retail presence with the expansion of Snapchat+ gift cards which can be purchased through retailers. The gift cards were initially made available last Christmas for purchase through Amazon; the cards are now also available for purchase at Target stores across the US, as well as online via Walmart.