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EU and UK regulators coordinate to open antitrust investigations into Facebook's classified ad service Marketplace; UK is also probing Facebook Dating — Investigations into classified-ads service Marketplace ramp up regulatory scrutiny on the company in Europe
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Vivendi says it is in talks to sell 10% of Universal Music Group to a SPAC backed by Bill Ackman, in a transaction that values UMG at €35B, up from €30B in 2019 — - Pershing Square Tontine Holdings raised $4 billion in July — UMG valuation suggests streaming-led music boom has legs
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, Insider, Variety and Hollywood Reporter


Stratechery's Ben Thompson announces a service called Passport to let creators manage their subscriptions and communicate with subscribers — Seven years ago, when I initially launched the paid Daily Update, there weren't really any tools designed for independent subscription businesses …
Discussion:
@stratechery, @sarthakgh, @marklittlenews, @vgr, @trengriffin, @caseynewton, @mathewi, @edwinwee, @sub8u, @alex, @alecellin, @tomcritchlow and @steven_aquino, more at Techmeme »


Sources: Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users — Going forward politicians will be treated more like everyone else — Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that shields politicians …
Discussion:
@alexeheath, The Daily Beast, New York Times, 9to5Mac, @amyxzh, @karissabe, @brandonrichards, @digiphile, @shiraovide, @jesselehrich, @dellcam, @dillidurast, @oneunderscore__, @gerritd, @brandyzadrozny, globalnews.ca, SiliconANGLE, @yaeleisenstat, @mattnavarra, @rvawonk, @karenkornbluh, @noupside, @brooklynmarie, @taraemcg, @sarahfrier, @gerryconway, @kreissdaniel, @klonick, @carolecadwalla, @daveyalba, Reuters, New York Post and Insider, more at Techmeme »


Former Treasury official is sentenced to 6 months in prison after admitting she leaked documents to BuzzFeed News; the docs formed the basis of the FinCEN Files — A former Treasury Department official was sentenced to six months in prison on Thursday after she admitted …
Discussion:
@joshgerstein, Poynter, @mattmittenthal, @jasonleopold, @jasonleopold, @eoinhiggins_, @juliezebrak, @politico, @benyt, @ericgarland, @arielkaminer, @bgrueskin, @scottmstedman, @jasonleopold, @sashachavkin, @janweirlaw, @davidmackau, Associated Press, Politico, Law & Crime, New York Post and Insider


NewsWhip: Trump's now closed blog generated engagement roughly on par with the top posts from mid-market local newspapers — The shutdown acknowledged the flawed assumption that if you build it, they will come.


HBO Max head Andy Forssell says news and sports may require new formats on the service and WarnerMedia is weighing whether CNN content can be part of HBO Max — News and sports programming are a significant factor in keeping consumers tethered to cable and satellite subscriptions in an era rife …


Twitter launches its subscription service Twitter Blue on iOS in Canada and Australia for CAD$3.49 and A$4.49/month, with Undo Tweet, Bookmark Folders, more — - Twitter Blue is designed for power users who are willing to pay a monthly fee for exclusive features.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Twitter, New York Times, CNN, Protocol, The Verge, @sinamonchild, @manishm, @minsingular, @remztheawesome, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, @profgalloway, @mep, The Information, @samuelaadams, @fourverts, @ebonyteach, @exavierpope, @mlozada, @b52malmet, @angelafritz, @fredericl, @danmassoud, @jyarow, The Supercreator, BBC, Gizmodo Australia, Bloomberg, Reuters, USA Today, BNN and Hypebot, more at Techmeme »


Trump shutting down his blog shows the significance of social media platforms' amplification mechanics and how they give free and huge reach to the worst actors — What a failed blog tells us about the power of Twitter — Last month, after months of hyping up a forthcoming “social media platform” …


Germany's antitrust regulator says it will probe Google News Showcase to check if Google's terms offer “unreasonable conditions” to publishers — - Cartel office has opened multiple probes in recent weeks — Regulator is wielding new powers to take on U.S. tech giants


WaPo diversifies its opinion section with the launch of Voices Across America, featuring local writers, and will launch an opinion-based podcast Please Go On — Fans of The Washington Post's opinion section will get to experience a wider range of viewpoints starting this month.
Discussion:
@maxboot, @jameshohmann and @niemanlab


US adults who turn only to news outlets with like-minded audiences are more likely than others in their parties to have an unfavorable view of China — Americans' views about key international priorities - and China specifically - differ widely by party, as recent Pew Research Center surveys have found.
Discussion:
@digiphile and @pewresearch