The Brief – Tuesday 20 January – OpenAI testing ads, Prime Minister consulting on social media ban, Daily Mail case begins

🤖 OpenAI is beginning to test ads on ChatGPT in the US in the coming weeks. The company said ads will “not influence answers” and that it will not be selling user data to advertisers. (OpenAI)

📵 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will consult on a social media ban for under-16s. The move comes after more than 60 Labour MPs urged him to impose such a ban. (The Times)

📺 Barb has appointed RSMB to deliver the third phase of its API, part of the JIC’s data-distribution strategy. RSMB will be tasked with developing a quicker and more capable API, inclusive of a Barb Data Hub integration and more pre-calculated metrics. This is expected to launch in H2. (Barb)

⚖️ The long-awaited High Court trial between the Daily Mail’s publisher and Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and other high profile claimants started on Monday. The case involves allegations of unlawful newsgathering dating from 1993 to 2018. (Press Gazette)

📱 TikTok has launched a “micro drama” app called PineDrama. The standalone app is available in the US and Brazil and shows users serialised, (currently) ad free vertical video shows. (Business Insider)

🧵 Meta’s Threads has overtaken X by daily usage on mobile devices, according to data from Similarweb. The Threads mobile app has 141.5m daily active users on iOS and Android, compared to 125m daily active users for X. (TechCrunch)

🚗 Volvo Cars has renewed its partnership with Sky Atlantic for another two years. As part of the renewal, Volvo will become a first-time sponsor of Sky Nature. The partnership was planned in collaboration with Sky Media and IPG’s Initiative. (Sky)