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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 …
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GOV.UK, TechCrunch, Engadget, @damiancollins, @kwasikwarteng, @dcms, @cmagovuk, Al Jazeera and Wall Street Journal, 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 …
Discussion:
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, 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 »
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 …
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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 »
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 »
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:
@caseynewton and @taylorlorenz, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
English is the most spoken language in the EU, so UK-centric outlets dominate how the EU is represented; more English-language analysis by EU writers is needed — We've written often about the sense of dislocation brought about by the switch from local, analog news sources to national, digital ones.
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
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:
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Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Up until this point, White House reporters have faced a lack of leaks from the Biden administration, a sharp contrast to Trump's tenure — After two and a half months of Joe Biden's presidency, something is missing from the news coverage of his administration: Leaks.
Discussion:
Poynter, KDFX-TV, @soledadobrien, @farhip, @owillis, @jayrosen_nyu, @msignorile, @shannonfreshour, @davidmackau, @msignorile, @ron_fournier, @tomlevenson, @wfkars, @nickconfessore, @wilson__valdez, @davidnir, @erichaywood, @drvolts, @haleaziz, @asteadwesley, @froomkin, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianstelter, Raw Story, This Is a Newsletter and It's The Mileage
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