New York-based production, post and interactive company Humble has secured Salon (Lisa Houck) for representation on the West Coast and in Texas….Short-form CG shop Shade has signed indie reps Deirdre Rymer of Blush LA to handle the West Coast, Julie Vargo & Associates for the Midwest, and Think Bank‘s Henry Hagerty to cover the East Coast…..Independent rep firm OPTiONS has taken on the West Coast and Texas for Robot Film featuring director Chris Robinson….Hollywood-based Maneater Productions has tabbed Yvette Lubinsky of Yvette Represents, L.A., to cover the West and Texas for commercial, music video, viral and interactive business…..London animation studio Not To Scale has garnered representation in Canada via JP Reps….Production designer Richard Berg has returned to Orlando Management for exclusive representation in commercials and music video. Currently an Emmy nominee for his work on the first season of ABC’s Modern Family, Berg has national spot credits for such clients as Clairol, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Sony PlayStation, Olay and Acura, and music videos featuring, among other artists, Pussycat Dolls, Janet Jackson, Jewel, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton….
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