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, European Commission, Variety, GOV.UK, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Insider, Financial Times, The Verge, New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, Protocol, New York Post, @samschech, @marietjeschaake, @vestager, @jason_kint, @menakadoshi, Politico and Hollywood Reporter, 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, Politico, @will_doran, @jasonleopold, @ericgarland, @arielkaminer, @jasonleopold, @janweirlaw, @scottmstedman, @juliezebrak, @politico, @bgrueskin, @sashachavkin, @eoinhiggins_, @davidmackau, @benyt, Associated Press, Law & Crime, New York Post and Insider
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Gannett is fighting an FBI subpoena, which seeks IP addresses and mobile phone info to determine who read a specific USA Today story about a Florida shooting — Gannett, the publisher, contends that demand for details on who accessed article violates the First Amendment.
Discussion:
@chayesmatthew, @joshgerstein, @politico, @oknox and Newser
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, CNN, Breitbart, The Daily Dot, TheGrio, Broadcast Law Blog, Reason, Slow Build, Poynter, Free Press, @amyxzh, @brandonrichards, @digiphile, @dellcam, @dillidurast, @yaeleisenstat, @mattnavarra, @rvawonk, @brooklynmarie, @taraemcg, @gerryconway, @kreissdaniel, @klonick, @carolecadwalla, @daveyalba, 9to5Mac, globalnews.ca, @jesselehrich, @oneunderscore__, @gerritd, @karenkornbluh, @noupside, @karissabe, @shiraovide, @brandyzadrozny, @sarahfrier, 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, @trengriffin, @sub8u, @alecellin, @vgr, @mathewi, @edwinwee, @alex, @tomcritchlow, @steven_aquino and @caseynewton, more at Techmeme »
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.
Discussion:
@nrothschild3
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
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Live streams for Cox radio and TV stations were down on Thursday, sources say due to a ransomware attack — Live streams for radio and TV stations owned by the Cox Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, have gone down earlier today in what multiple sources have described as a ransomware attack.
Discussion:
The Hill, FTVLive, @mattblaze, Peach State Politics … and The Desk, more at Techmeme »
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:
Insider, Music Business Worldwide, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter and Variety
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 and The A.V. Club
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
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