Paul Muniz of PMI Management, New York, will handle sales on the East Coast for Imaginary Forces, Hollywood….The Directors Network, Encino, Calif., has signed New York-based humor director Wayne Gibson and Los Angeles-based director/cameraman Stephen Vidano. Additionally, longform helmer Lorraine Senna has returned to The Directors Network for spot representation….Independent rep Yvette Lubinsky, Playa del Rey, Calif., is handling West Coast sales for bicoastal Washington Square Films….Mirella Films, Hollywood, has signed Stuart Sternbach of Pangea, New York, for East Coast representation. Additionally, Chesley Helmsfield has joined Pangea as director of marketing/PR….Daria Zeliger has joined rhinofx, New York, as sales rep. She was formerly director of sales & marketing at Salamandra Images, New York….Blueyed Pictures, which maintains offices in Los Angeles, London and Tokyo, has secured independent reps Lynda Woodward and Janet Gilson to handle the West Coast and the Midwest, respectively. The company has also added London-based Caroline Brodrick for representation in the U.K. She succeeds Chris Ellis, who remains in England, but is now handling France for Blueyed….Cinematographer John Choi has joined The Skouras Agency, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation….Production designer Robb Buono has signed with Innovative Artists, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation in features, commercials and music videos….
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