Norwegian commercial director Anniken Lien has signed with The Joneses for exclusive U.S. representation in commercials. Her credits include work for such brands as Volkswagen, Nivea, Kraft, L'Oreal, Nestle and Lego in association with agencies and production companies across Europe….Culver City/Vancouver-based visual effects house Zoic Studios has promoted VFX talent Levi Ahmu to creative director. The move comes on the heels of Ahmu's visually inventive, Zoic-produced :15, “Show Us Your Skin,” for Dove out of David Brown Entertainment, featuring inspired mosaic imagery. Ahmu served as both creative director and live-action director on the Dove spot….Blythe Dalton has been promoted from sr. producer to head of production at MassMarket, overseeing all projects run in-house for the West Coast office….Sam Helfer has joined the New York office of Erwin Penland as a broadcast producer. She previously worked for Deutsch, N.Y., as a content producer for a variety of international clients such as Microsoft, Milk, DIRECTV and Tylenol….Joanna “Joey” Cade has joined Element X Creative, Dallas, as executive producer of VFX. She comes from Reel FX Entertainment and has been a freelance commercial, film and VFX producer….Splice Here, Minneapolis, has added colorist Alexis Van Hurkman…
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