Mediagazer: Pinterest says it is starting a Creator Fund, which will pay $500K in cash and media, starting with eight influencers from under-represented backgrounds (Engadget)

Paul Sandle / Reuters:

UK launches the Digital Markets Unit, tasked with halting anticompetitive acts by Big Tech, starting with platform relationships with publishers and advertisers — LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's new regulator for tech giants Facebook and Google launches on Wednesday with an initial remit …

Discussion: GOV.UK, TechCrunch, Engadget, @damiancollins, @kwasikwarteng, @dcms, @cmagovuk, Al Jazeera and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Maria Armental / Wall Street Journal:

Patreon raises $155M Series F led by Tiger Global Management at a $4B valuation, up from $1.2B in September, bringing its total raised to $411M — Online company raises $155 million in latest round, led by new investor Tiger Global Management — Patreon Inc., an online platform …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Variety, @samyamiam, @alexisohanian, @danprimack, @ljin18, @caseynewton, @jpgg and @carnage4life, more at Techmeme »

Katie Roof / Bloomberg:

Sources: Clubhouse is in talks to raise funding from investors in a round valuing the business at about $4B, following its reported valuation of ~$1B in January — Clubhouse, the buzzy audio-based social network, is in talks to raise funding from investors in a round valuing the business …

Dow Jones:

Dow Jones names David Cho, who most recently served as Business Editor at Washington Post, as EIC of Barron's — Dow Jones

Discussion: Talking Biz News and @michellemanafy

David Meyer / Fortune:

Max Schrems' non-profit Noyb files a complaint with the French privacy watchdog, claims Google's Android Advertising Identifier violates EU's ePrivacy Directive — Our mission to make business better is fueled by readers like you. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.

Discussion: Engadget, Light Reading and noyb.eu, more at Techmeme »

Lacey Rose / Hollywood Reporter:

Jon Stewart's forthcoming current affairs series, set to debut this fall on Apple TV+, will be titled The Problem With Jon Stewart — The current affairs series, which Stewart will host and executive produce, will carry the name ‘The Problem With Jon Stewart.’ — Jon Stewart has settled on a name.

Discussion: @appletv, @anthony, @stevenbeynon and @loudmouthjulia

Engadget:

Pinterest says it is starting a Creator Fund, which will pay $500K in cash and media, starting with eight influencers from under-represented backgrounds — Of all the social media platforms, Pinterest might be the least reliant on the kind of influencer culture associated with Instagram, YouTube and others.

Discussion: @pinterest, @mariejoelle, @caseynewton and @taylorlorenz, more at Techmeme »

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:

Pew: YouTube usage grew from 73% of US adults in 2019 to 81% in 2021, with 95% of 18- to 29-year-olds using the service; 21% use TikTok — - YouTube saw the most significant growth of any social media app among American users during the pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center.

Discussion: MediaPost and Pew Research Center, more at Techmeme »

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

YouTube says that 18 out of every 10K views in Q4 2020 were of videos that violate its policies, down from 72 out of every 10K views in Q4 2017 — ‘Violative View Rate’ fell steeply after 2017 — YouTube wants the world to know that it's doing a better job than ever of enforcing its own moderation rules.

Discussion: Washington Post, YouTube Official Blog, @mattnavarra, @nealmohan, @gerritd, Beyond Search, Variety, ScreenRant, The Economic Times and Neowin, more at Techmeme »

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

WarnerMedia revives the Hanna-Barbera name for its London animation studio, previously Cartoon Network Studios Europe, as it concentrates on original animation — Vanessa Brookman will head up the London-based Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, named after the cartoon studio behind such classics as ‘Scooby-Doo’ and ‘The Flintstones.’

Discussion: Variety, Deadline, @naidalumia, @nickandmore and @stormtheartist

Megan Graham / CNBC:

Report: digital ad spending grew 12.2% YoY in 2020 to $139.8B, as H2 political ad spending offset the H1 falloff; top 10 companies held 78.1% share of revenues — - Despite an initial falloff due to the Covid pandemic, digital advertising spending grew 12.2% year over year in 2020 …

Discussion: MediaPost, @timseymour, @megancgraham and @juokaz, more at Techmeme »

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

India quietly scraps the censorship appeals body Film Certification Appellate Tribunal; aggrieved filmmakers will now have to go to court — The Indian federal government has passed an order that scraps the Information and Broadcasting ministry's Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) …

Discussion: Forbes