Applications
GroupM adopts anti-piracy policy for digital media buys
MUMBAI: Global media investment management operation GroupM has developed and adopted a pioneering new digital media buying policy designed to prevent its clients’ ads from appearing on websites that distribute illegally obtained content.
The policy is designed to actively oppose online piracy in all its forms and to protect the copyright-protected, intellectual property of all content-producing companies.
The new policy includes anti-piracy language for insertion orders that prohibits vendors from placing GroupM clients’ advertising on sites that support piracy or contain any illegally distributed content. Effective immediately, the language will be built into all future contract terms and conditions with publishers and ad networks.
In conjunction with the new policy, GroupM has created a list of more than 2000 sites throughout the U.S. that have been identified as containing or supporting pirated content. The list will be updated on a continuing basis and a link to the list will be included in all contracts and insertion orders.
GroupM Interaction Global CEO Rob Norman said, “We’re serious about combating piracy and protecting our clients’ intellectual property as forcefully as we possibly can. This policy extends to digital media buyers at all GroupM agencies, as well as other WPP companies like Team Detroit, which manages Ford’s media business.”
GroupM serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare. GroupM’s content-producing clients have been asked to share their own lists of offending sites with GroupM in order to help keep the list current and all have agreed to do so.
“Pirate sites are known to ‘domain hop,’ so we need to keep on top of the latest list of identified offenders as best as we possibly can in order to enforce this new policy to its fullest effect,” explained Norman, who also is GroupM US CEO.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
