New Faces
Ellen Steinberg has joined McKinney, Durham, N.C., as a group creative director. She had most recently been freelancing for a variety of agencies. Prior to that she served as a creative director at Fallon New York. She established herself as a leading art director based on work for such clients as Conseco Insurance, Jim Beam, Lee Jeans, Miller Lite, Nikon, Sports Illustrated, BMW and USA Network….Neil Saunders has come aboard Ogilvy Chicago as managing partner/director of strategic planning. He most recently was senior VP/director of brand planning for Leo Burnett, Chicago. In his new role, Saunders will oversee brand development and stewardship across the office’s roster of accounts, including Dove which has attained a higher profile with its “Campaign for Real Beauty.”…..Donnie Williams has joined Ignited Minds, Marina del Rey, Calif., as interactive associate media director. He comes over from Carat Fusion and prior to that Lowe Worldwide, New York. Ignited Minds has also promoted Dave Martin to associate media director….Art directors Allison Hayes and Ryan Stotts have joined Boston agency Fort Franklin….
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