Prices for everything seem to be skyrocketing, but for the hottest segment of the digital advertising market—retail media—the exact opposite is true. After rising throughout much of 2021, prices have not only gone negative but plummeted to double-digit declines.

The downturn in advertising is set to continue well into 2023. A recent survey by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) revealed that nearly 30% of major advertisers are planning to cut their ad budgets next year. 74% cited the current economic situation as the reason for these decisions.

In order to curry favor with regulators and perhaps get a leg up in the discussion around privacy and data, it seems TikTok may do the unthinkable – it may lift the veil on its recommendations algorithm. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that, as part of the overhaul of its US business, TikTok has promised regulators some degree of oversight over its algorithm.

The EU has imposed a $414 million fine on Meta for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This comes from a 2018 complaint about the company’s policy requiring users to opt-in to personalized advertisements in order to use Facebook and Instagram.

This week, Meta announced its Variance Reduction System (VRS), which it says will equitably distribute ads via census data and machine learning. The new tech was created in partnership with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), representing the first instance of direct court oversight for Meta’s ad targeting and delivery, according to a DOJ statement

In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, President Biden has called on legislators to work on bipartisan reforms to hold big tech companies accountable for their data privacy policies, their impact on teenagers, and for any anticompetitive practices.

In light of the uncertain economic conditions in the coming year, marketers and agency leaders may shift their focus on technology, following a year of fluctuations. The start of 2022 saw new technologies such as metaverse activations, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies being highly sought-after, however, their popularity began to decline due to setbacks like the failure of digital exchange FTX, investors losing interest in Meta’s virtual world plans, and an overall downturn in Silicon Valley caused by increasing federal interest rates and inflation