Top News:

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 »

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

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 »

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 »

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:
MacRumors, The Verge, @appletv, @anthony, @stevenbeynon and @loudmouthjulia

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, Engadget, Pew Research Center and @lrainie, more at Techmeme »

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 »

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 …
Discussion:
@mathewi, Insider, @dgisserious, @justinhendrix, Loot Box Investing, Clubhouse Convos, @alexrkonrad, @jeffjarvis, @paul__armstrong, @jacobwolf, @ericbahn, @jamespindell, @jaykapoornyc, @pkafka, @mcwm, @chrismessina, @thekenyeung, @joshsternberg, @scottnover, @profgalloway, @mhbergen, @levynews, @rolandsmartin, @exavierpope and Gizmodo

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 »

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

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