The Newspaper Association of America wants the FTC to investigate advertising blocking technologies and related services, saying they may violate Section 5 of the FTC Act. NAA alleged in a Thursday news release and complaint that ad blockers falsely represent to consumers who download an app or service that they'll get ads that satisfy a certain standard. But large companies pay ad blockers -- namely Adblock Plus -- to get on a "whitelist" that ensures ads will reach consumers, NAA said. It wants the commission to look at Germany-based Eyeo, which operates Adblock Plus. The association also alleged other unfair and deceptive practices. Its complaint said ad blockers "mislead consumers into believing that publishers have consented to the substitution of their own advertising for new ads sold by ad-blocking companies." NAA said subscription services, which claim to offset publisher harm, don't give any evidence to support that claim, and ad blockers that allow users to "evade metered subscription services and paywalls" are engaging in unfair competition. "Newspapers recognize that ad blocking technology is responding to a consumer demand, and publishers are working diligently to improve the ad experience for consumers," NAA CEO David Chavern said in the release. "The deceptive activities of these ad blockers undercut publishers' ability to innovate and respond to customer demands, and preempt publishers' efforts to communicate with consumers about the importance of advertising or alternative mechanisms for supporting high-quality journalism content." Eyeo and the FTC didn't comment.

Lord & Taylor will be barred under a final consent order from deceiving customers about any paid online articles and Instagram posts passed off as independent or objective, the FTC said in a Monday news release. The commission's 3-0 approval of the final order, following a public comment period, comes after a settlement was announced in March with the national retailer that faced commission allegations for failing to publicly disclose paid native online advertisements and other endorsements. The commission alleged Lord & Taylor edited and placed a paid article in online pop culture and fashion publication called Nylon in March 2015 without telling consumers it was an ad. The publication also posted a photo of a dress from the retailer's private-label Design Lab collection on Instagram, also without saying it was a paid promotion, the commission said. During the same time, the retailer gave 50 select fashion "influencers" a free dress from the collection and paid them between $1,000 and $4,000 each to post a photo of it on Instagram or another social media website without disclosing the payments, said the FTC's prior news release about the settlement. The commission issued policy and guidance in December aimed at protecting consumers from intentionally misleading native online ads, which several industry representatives said was a precursor to enforcement actions against potential violators (see 1512290010). Lord & Taylor said in an emailed statement it "never sought to deceive" customers. "In the FTC's consent order, there is no finding of wrongdoing whatsoever," it added. "A year ago, when it came to our attention that there were potential issues with how the influencers posted about a dress in this campaign, we took immediate action with the social media agencies that were supporting us on it to ensure that clear disclosures were made." The retailer said it has cooperated fully with FTC's investigation and will uphold the commission's guidelines, including educating its teams and ensuring that outside agencies and partners follow them, too.

Buyers, sellers and intermediaries in the digital advertising supply chain that meet stringent anti-fraud requirements can receive certification seals through a program launched Monday by the Trustworthy Accountability Group. More than 30 digital ad companies -- including comScore, Interpublic, News Corp., Omnicom Group, Publicis, WPP and Yahoo -- agreed to participate, TAG said in a news release. “Participants in the digital ad supply chain can now ask a simple question to tell if their partners have taken the necessary steps to fight ad fraud: ‘Are you TAG Certified Against Fraud?’ As more TAG anti-fraud seals are awarded, the cracks in our industry exploited by bad actors will also be sealed against their criminal endeavors," said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. Direct buyers (advertisers and authorized ad agents), direct sellers (publishers and authorized publisher agents) and intermediaries (ad networks and indirect buyers and sellers) must go through a registration process, designate a TAG compliance officer and comply with the Media Rating Council’s invalid traffic detection and filtration guidelines to become certified, IAB said. Sellers also must adhere to domain list filtering, data center IP list filtering and publisher sourcing disclosure requirements, while intermediaries must follow the list filtering requirements and TAG's payment ID protocol. TAG was created in late 2014 by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers and Interactive Advertising Bureau to fight ad fraud, malware and Internet piracy, and to promote transparency.

Sprint is tossing in a free 12-month Amazon Prime membership ($99 value) for new customers and switchers who sign up for the Amazon Better Choice XXL plan. The premium plan includes 40 GB of shared data ($100 per month) and unlimited talk and text, Sprint said Friday.

An 11-inch Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 2-in-1 PC was an Amazon Deal of the Day Friday, selling for $299, down from $699. It includes an Intel quad-core 1.83GHz processor, 4GB memory, 120 solid-state drive, HDMI, Bluetooth, webcam, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Windows 10 Home. The convertible PC had a 4.4 rating out of 5 from five customer reviews.

Klipsch is the home audio partner for the May 10 release of Deadpool on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD download and 4K Ultra HD, it said Thursday. The film, released in February, stars Ryan Reynolds and was directed by Tim Miller. Seventy U.S. AV retail store and online partners will receive Klipsch/Deadpool point of purchase materials and the movie trailer for demos, said the company. In conjunction, Klipsch is running the “Wanna Win My Package?” Deadpool consumer sweepstakes that runs Sunday through June 30 on its website and social media networks. Entrants can sign up, starting Sunday, at www.Klipsch.com/Deadpool for a chance to win a Klipsch Reference R-20B soundbar and a Deadpool Blu-ray disc, the company said.

Viacom will have access to Roku data for targeted advertising on the Roku platform under a deal signed by the two companies, Viacom said Thursday. In a fiscal Q2 earnings call, CEO Philippe Dauman said the deal "will let us leverage Roku data for sophisticated ad targeting." He also said that with the carriage agreement signed earlier this month with Dish Network (see 1604210020), Viacom now has long-term deals in place with all the major distributors. He also said Viacom's Epix network will have its first original scripted series this fall. Viacom reported revenue in the quarter ended March 31 fell 3 percent to $3 billion from the year-ago period, led by declines in home entertainment and media network advertising.

Looking to invoke consumers’ holiday season shopping spirit, Sears stores held a “Spring It On Black Friday” event Friday and Saturday for Shop Your Way program customers, just as Sears Holdings announced the closing of 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer. The company said in February it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores, and the latest announcement follows an evaluation of stores’ recent and historical performance and the timing of lease expirations, it said. All of the Sears stores and nearly all of the Kmart stores will close in late July, with two Kmart stores closing mid-September, it said. Affected Sears stores will begin liquidation sales April 29, and Kmart store sales will kick in May 12, it said. "Sears Holdings will continue to transform as the role of the store evolves to fit the way that members want to shop,” said CEO Edward Lampert, citing store initiatives Meet with an Expert, In-Vehicle Pickup and Return and Exchange in Five. Among the laptop deals as part of the two-day sale: a 14-inch HP Elite 8460 with 4 GB memory and a 250 GB hard drive for $189, down from $299.

U.S. Internet advertising revenue reached a record $59.6 billion in 2015, 20 percent above the prior year, helped by a surge in mobile, digital video and social media ads, said the Interactive Advertising Bureau in a report released Thursday. IAB's report, prepared by PwC, said it's the sixth consecutive year the industry has seen double-digit growth. Mobile advertising soared to $20.7 billion in 2015, 66 percent above 2014, the report said. “Mobile’s impressive upswing is a testament to its increasing importance to marketers,” IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg said in a news release. "Three key disruptive trends -- mobile, social, and programmatic -- continue to fuel this,” added PwC partner David Silverman. The report said nonmobile digital video ad revenue totaled $4.2 billion in 2015, up 30 percent from the prior year, while social media ad revenue totaled $10.9 billion in 2015, up 55 percent from 2014. Retail advertisers generated 22 percent of total revenue in 2015 -- up from 21 percent in 2014 -- the largest category of Internet ad spending, the report said.

Amazon’s Fire 6-inch HD6 was a Gold Box deal Monday at Amazon.com, discounted by 30 percent to $69 for the 8 GB version and $89 for the 16 GB model. The HD6 had a four-star rating on Amazon from more than 24,000 reviews. Pre-owned Fire tablets started at $29, Amazon said.