Global Marketing News – 8th March 2016
Facebook battles with authorities around the world
Facebook is currently embroiled in several regulatory battles around the world.
It is facing a variety of challenges in Indonesia, the UK, Germany and Brazil.
In Indonesia, Facebook has been ordered to pay local taxes or face being blocked.
The Indonesian government recently announced that all internet companies that want to operate in the country must have a local office based in Indonesia and pay local taxes.
If Facebook does not comply, the government has said it will block the website or reduce its bandwidth.
In the UK, Facebook has announced a major overhaul to its tax structure.
Revenue generated from large UK companies that advertise on Facebook will now be taxed in the UK.
Previously, revenues had been taxed in Ireland, where Facebook’s international headquarters is based. This had caused controversy as it resulted in the social network paying just over £4,000 in corporation tax in the UK last year.
Facebook will now pay a 20% corporation tax to the UK for all profits generated from large UK businesses that advertise on the social network. This will mean it will now pay millions more pounds in tax in the UK.
In Germany, Facebook is being investigated by the authorities for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the social media market and breaching data protection laws.
And it’s the social network’s chat app WhatsApp which is causing trouble in Brazil, with a company executive recently having been arrested and held in police custody overnight for failing to hand over WhatsApp conversations between several alleged criminals.
China is expanding its TV censorship laws
The Chinese government has announced it is going to expand its existing television censorship laws to cover online television programmes as well.
This means that online programmes that feature smoking, extramarital affairs, gay relationships, underage love, reincarnation, witchcraft, war, or anything that could “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” will be banned.
All Chinese video websites will be legally required to have a member of staff to check and censor all videos, after receiving censorship training from the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
A Chinese government spokesperson tried to justify the expansion of the censorship laws, saying: “Television programs should have not only attractive actors, but they should also demonstrate value. They should not only be easy on the eyes, but also be nurturing for the heart. They should not only entertain, but they should also be educational.”
What time are people most likely to open push notifications?
And finally, research by Leanplum has revealed that the majority of mobile marketers, 63%, are missing out on opportunities by not sending out push notifications at the right times.
Marketers are failing to take into account cultural differences with regards to when users are most likely to be engaged with their mobile device.
In North America, users are most engaged around 4pm and 5pm, yet many marketers are sending out push notifications between noon and 4pm, resulting in low numbers of people opening the notification.
Likewise, in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, users are most engaged around 9pm and 10pm, yet most marketers are sending out push notifications an hour too early.
In Latin America, users are most engaged around 5pm and 6pm, and in the Asia-Pacific region users are most engaged between 7am and 1pm, but again push notifications aren’t coinciding with these times.
Webcertain’s global marketing news bulletins are daily 5-minute videos, providing marketers with the latest international digital marketing news in an easy-to-digest format.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Gemma Houghton
Latest posts by Gemma Houghton (see all)
- Watch the recording: How to identify and seize growth opportunities in international markets - April 20, 2022
- International marketing recruitment: How to drive global growth amid The Great Resignation - February 23, 2022
- 5 trends to include in your 2022 international digital marketing strategy - December 21, 2021
