Top News:
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
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
Discussion:
The Guardian, Variety, European Commission, MediaPost, GOV.UK, Insider, Financial Times, The Verge, @samschech, New York Post, New York Times, @jason_kint, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, Protocol, @marietjeschaake, @vestager, @menakadoshi, Politico and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Alex Heath / The Verge:
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, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Poynter, 9to5Mac, Free Press, @amyxzh, @karissabe, @brandonrichards, @digiphile, @shiraovide, @jesselehrich, @dellcam, @dillidurast, @oneunderscore__, @gerritd, @brandyzadrozny, globalnews.ca, @yaeleisenstat, @mattnavarra, @rvawonk, @karenkornbluh, @noupside, @brooklynmarie, @taraemcg, @sarahfrier, @gerryconway, @kreissdaniel, @klonick, @carolecadwalla, @daveyalba, SiliconANGLE, Reuters, New York Post and Insider, more at Techmeme »
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
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 »
David Mack / BuzzFeed News:
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:
The Wrap, @mattmittenthal, @jasonleopold, @joshgerstein, @jasonleopold, @eoinhiggins_, @juliezebrak, @politico, @benyt, @ericgarland, @arielkaminer, @bgrueskin, @scottmstedman, @jasonleopold, @sashachavkin, @janweirlaw, @davidmackau, Associated Press, Politico, Law & Crime, New York Post and Insider
Neal Rothschild / Axios:
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.
Bloomberg:
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
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Bundeskartellamt, Barron's Online and Reuters
Ashley Cullins / Hollywood Reporter:
Spotify's Discovery Mode, which lets artists and labels take lower royalty rates in exchange for higher priority in algorithms, gets scrutiny from Congress — Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Hank Johnson Jr. (D-GA) are concerned the feature could lead to lower pay for artists and fewer choices for consumers.
Discussion:
@eriqgardner, The A.V. Club and Bloomberg
Bloomberg:
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, Reuters, Variety and Hollywood Reporter
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
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
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
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:
CNN, Nieman Lab, Twitter, Insider, New York Times, SWAN of the Week, The Verge, Protocol, @minsingular, @manishm, Señales.co, @sinamonchild, @remztheawesome, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, @profgalloway, @mep, @samuelaadams, @fourverts, @ebonyteach, @exavierpope, @mlozada, @b52malmet, @angelafritz, @fredericl, @danmassoud, @jyarow, BBC, Gizmodo Australia, Bloomberg, Reuters, USA Today, BNN and Hypebot, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
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 …
Pew Research Center:
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