Onkyo’s TX-RZ720 THX-certified AV receiver was an Amazon Deal of the Day Friday, discounted by $150 to $449. The 7.2-channel receiver averaged 4.1 out of 5 stars from 17 Amazon reviews dating to September.

News content will be separated from political and issue ads under Facebook’s new advertising policies, Head-Global News Partnerships Campbell Brown Tuesday said in response to “concerns (see 1806110034) publishers may have about conflating news stories with advocacy.”

Facebook’s new advertising policies will “undermine journalism and its role as the fourth estate and legitimize anti-journalism narratives around the world,” said seven media publisher groups Monday (see 1805180058). They asked Facebook to exempt news organizations from the new policy for labeling and archiving political advertising. The American Society of News Editors, News Media Alliance, Society of Professional Journalists and others asked that "all of our advertising is treated as general advertising and is not placed into the political category by the mere fact that it mentions politics or issues." The platform is “working to treat advertised news content differently in the archive, which addresses our news partners’ fundamental concern," responded Head-Global News Partnerships Campbell Brown. "An exemption or whitelist would directly negate the new levels of transparency we’re trying to achieve.”

The House Digital Commerce Subcommittee scheduled a hearing on the “digital advertising ecosystem” for 10:15 a.m. Thursday in 2322 Rayburn. The subcommittee said lawmakers want to better understand “the amount of personal information changing hands online and the technical processes surrounding those transactions.”

Sprint began selling the LG G7 ThinQ flagship smartphone Friday (see 1805020016) online and in stores, said the carrier. It's offering the 64 GB device at $792 in a buy-one-get-one-free offer for $33 a month over 18 months for the first line, and $0 per month after two billing cycles for the second line, under its unlimited data, talk and text plan. The offer requires two new lines or eligible upgrades.

The Federal Election Commission should let the advertising industry establish an indicator-based online ad system, TechFreedom said May 25 in comments on two agency rule proposals (see 1805250032 and 1805290037). The FEC should also “check in after each of the next two elections to see what real-world data say about users’ understanding of the indicator icons and associated wording,” said TechFreedom President Berin Szoka. The organization pitched the proposal as a bipartisan compromise with “trust but verify” safeguards to earn the support of skeptical Democratic commissioners.

The Federal Election Commission should allow online platforms flexibility in disclosing the financing origin of political advertisements, Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman told the agency Tuesday. The FEC is considering two proposals for reforming online political ad disclosure rules. Groups like Common Cause argued for the stricter proposal requiring paid-for-by disclaimers (see 1805250032). IA supports a proposal that would link political ad information on separate pages, preserving flexibility and innovation, regardless of the device, Beckerman said. Adaptive disclaimers “allow for innovation and experimentation in the advertising, while also giving transparency and clarity to consumers,” Beckerman said. Civil rights groups -- including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Color of Change and National Hispanic Media Coalition -- said the commission should apply the stronger, “full disclosure requirements” that currently apply to radio and TV ads, and adaptive disclaimers should be allowed only “as a last resort.” Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Allie Bohm sided with Common Cause, saying the first proposal "provides voters with clearer information about the election ads they see online."

The FTC said it moved to block a "Florida-based scheme" from targeting small businesses with deceptive robocalls claiming to be from Google. The agency May 7 filed a complaint, approved 2-0, against Pointbreak Media and related parties in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which issued a temporary restraining order May 8, said a release Wednesday. Defendants allegedly deceived "small business owners by falsely claiming to represent Google, falsely threatening businesses with removal from Google search results, and falsely promising first-place or first-page placement in Google search results," said the release. "Defendants have no relationship with Google, and yet they barrage consumers with robocalls threatening that Google will label their business 'permanently closed' unless they 'press one' to speak with a 'Google specialist.' Telemarketers tell those who respond that, for a purported one-time fee ranging from $300 to $700, they can 'claim and verify' their Google listing and have unique 'keywords' so their business will appear prominently when people search." Meanwhile, Google is acting against Pointbreak Media and two other groups suspected of fraud-related scams, blogged Google Product Lead-Small and Midsize Business Market Development Bryan Solar Wednesday. Such alleged impostors target businesses by claiming to improve a firm’s Google Search rankings or charging for free Google services. The company is moving against Kydia, Pointbreak Media and Supreme Marketing Group. The web platform also announced new techniques for identifying scam efforts, a tool for reporting scammers and educational resources.

The Digital Advertising Alliance’s new self-regulation program for online political advertising will let users view an advertiser’s name, contact information, political expenditure records and individual contacts, DAA said Tuesday. The program is similar to recent action from Facebook (see 1805080054). “The PoliticalAd icon will give voters instant, easy access to information about the digital political ads they see, directly from the ads themselves,” DAA Executive Director Lou Mastria said.

The National Advertising Division recommended T-Mobile USA discontinue its “Best Unlimited Network” advertising claims, said a Monday news release. T-Mobile says it will appeal to the National Advertising Review Board, NAD said. NAD investigated in response to AT&T's complaint. “Wireless service providers have, for many years, claimed to be superior to their competitors in various attributes, with claims like ‘fastest,’ ‘largest,’ ‘best coverage,’ or ‘most reliable,’” NAD said. “While wireless service providers should be free to truthfully promote the advantages that their innovations provide consumers, comparative advertising claims must be substantiated to avoid misleading consumers and to ensure that wireless service providers compete on a level playing field.” NAD said T-Mobile justified its claims by offering data from two independent sources, Ookla and OpenSignal, “showing that it provided superior data speeds to its customers as compared to its major competitors.” NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. "T-Mobile has the best unlimited network for consumers and we wanted to share that with them in a simple and clear way," A T-Mobile spokesman said. AT&T didn't comment.