Venice, Calif.-based Cucoloris Films has secured Grace Silverstein of independent rep firm Reel Grace to handle the West Coast and Texas…. Effective July 3, Perry Schaffer and Corey Rogers of New York-based independent rep firm Schaffer & Co. will be handling the East Coast for Complete Pandemonium, San Francisco…. BeachHouse Films, the Santa Monica shop headed by executive producers Patti and David Coulter, has secured independent rep Yvette Lubinsky to cover the West Coast….Earth2mars, a New York-headquartered editorial and graphics boutique, has hired two marketing/sales reps: Hillary Cutter and Rachel Pearlman…. Cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball has joined The Skouras Agency, Santa Monica, for commercials and music videos…. Orlando Management, Sherman Oaks, Calif., has signed production designer Johannes Spalt for exclusive representation. Spalt’s credits span commercials and music videos; his spot clients have included Coca-Cola, Canon, Gatorade, Gillette, Subaru, Miller Beer, Toyota, M&M’s and Texaco….Production designer Dania Saragovia has joined bicoastal Paradigm for exclusive representation in commercials, music videos and features….Quantel, headquartered in New Canaan, Conn., has added Greg Siddons as a regional sales manager in its New York City office….
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More