We recap this week’s biggest news across the media, marketing, and ad tech industries. Plus, more news in today's MadTech Daily covering another huge industry acquisition, as well as earnings figures from ITV and Havas.

Acquisitions in ad tech went full steam ahead this week, with Interpublic Group selling R/GA to Truelink Capital and Viant Technology acquiring Lockr. T-Mobile announced it will be acquiring UK-based ad tech firm Blis; it also completed its acquisition of Vistar Media. Applovin was in acquisition talks too: apparently, the company could be selling its gaming unit. 

Elsewhere, the topic of publishers versus AI made headlines. New data from content licensing platform TollBit, reveals just how dire the situation is for publishers regarding their dwindling traffic. 

In the social sphere, TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur are under scrutiny from UK watchdog the Information Commissioners Office over their practices with underage users’ data, and how they protect children’s privacy. 

Meta has found itself in recent trouble too, as digital rights activists at Eko filed complaints in Germany, Spain, and Norway over the tech giant’s ad targeting practices.