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Written by: Kong Xiangwei
2021-07-02 16:07
The last update date: 2021-07-02 16:19
Technet giant Facebook announced two weeks ago that it will test ads in its virtual reality (VR) device Oculus.
Will its digital advertising landscape be more far-reaching?
Considering Facebook's track record of targeted advertising in protecting data privacy, are antitrust regulators prepared to regulate technology giants in VR?
To undertake the above:
[Technology.
In the future] How to test ads in VR to help Facebook build a VR kingdom?
Facebook earlier planned to test display ads in the VR game "Blaston" and emphasized that it will respect user data privacy.
(Facebook Blog picture)
How Facebook will eventually display ads in VR affects not only the consumer experience, but also the way it collects and uses data when displaying targeted ads.
This is worrying, not only because of Facebook’s past record of protecting user data privacy, but also because the data that can be collected from VR may be more sensitive than on social media.
In this VR advertising test, Facebook emphasized in its blog that it will follow the company's "people-oriented" advertising principles.
The user has the right to hide an advertisement or completely hide the advertisement of an advertiser, and can also learn the details of the advertisement display.
Facebook claims to continue to listen to users' reactions to advertisements.
Facebook also reiterated that it will not use certain data to deliver targeted advertising.
For example, it clarifies that the user's height, weight, gender and other information will only be processed and stored in the VR equipment, and will not be sent to Facebook's server, so it will not be used for advertising; the user's head and body movement data after wearing the blindfold , The content of conversations with other users when using apps such as Messenger and Parties, or the content of using voice commands to manipulate VR goggles, will not be used for advertising.
Whether Facebook’s VR ads will comply with these promises, or whether consumers are willing to trust Facebook, remains to be seen in the future.
In the anti-monopoly wave of tech giants, as Facebook dominates the VR market, it may face another wave of investigations by regulators in the future.
Pictured last July, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg attended the Congressional antitrust hearing.
(Getty Images)
In addition, the legitimate anti-monopoly of technology giants has become an important mission of European and American regulatory agencies. I am afraid that VR advertising will become the next anti-monopoly battlefield.
U.S. Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal criticized Facebook for its long-term "plagiarism, acquisition, and strangulation" strategy to suppress competitors.
At the end of last year, a start-up company accused Facebook of similar practices in VR to suppress rivals.
For example, according to "Bloomberg" reports, fitness startup YUR launched a game that can be used on Oculus and an application for tracking exercise indicators in April 2019. The creator Cix Liv claimed that the program satisfies Facebook’s security, privacy, and Performance requirements, but it has not been available on the Oculus store for many months.
In October of the same year, Facebook launched its own health indicator tracking function Oculus Move.
Liv questioned Facebook's VR platform by suppressing opponents to promote its own products, collecting and grasping more user data, "know more about you than any company, to control the future of advertising."
Furthermore, although Microsoft, Apple, etc. have published or are developing VR and AR platforms and devices, it cannot be said that Facebook is unlikely to face fierce competition in the future, but now Facebook has taken a leading position in the VR market. .
According to the game platform Steam survey, as of May this year, Oculus Quest 2 has accounted for 29.33% of the computer VR market; if combined with the brand's other VR models, RIFT S and RIFT, Oculus has a combined share of more than 54% in this market.
According to industry analysis company Counterpoint, in the extended reality (XR; VR, AR plus mixed reality, MR) market, Oculus accounted for 53.5% of the market last year, far behind the second largest Sony (11.9%). .
Currently, Facebook is significantly ahead of its competitors in sales of VR devices.
(Hong Kong 01 drawing)
When Facebook is questioned about its monopoly on social media, its involvement in the VR market will only allow it to become a powerful player.
In addition to the above data, some Oculus VR users have already felt Facebook's "dominant".
After the launch of Oculus Quest 2 last year, users need to log in with a Facebook account and cannot use the Oculus account independently. Some users have discovered that if they delete their Facebook account, they will also delete their Oculus account, as well as the purchased games and in-game progress. disappear.
Facebook's approach and its role have attracted the attention of regulators.
Last year, Germany updated its competition laws for companies whose "ecosystem across the market-economic strength can hardly challenge their status".
In December last year, the German Federal Antitrust Office (Bundeskartellamt) announced that it would investigate the integration between Facebook and Oculus.
Its chairman Andreas Mundt questioned: “Facebook's linking of VR products to the group’s social media in this way may constitute an illegal abuse of dominance. We intend to study whether and to what extent this matching arrangement will affect these two industries. Competition.”
The above is excerpted from the 271st issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly (June 28, 2021) "Facebook VR test advertising media behemoth will be even bigger". If you want to read the full text, please
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