Directors Sam Cadman and Nick Jones of Rogue Films, London, are being represented stateside by Sandi Mollod on the East Coast, in the Midwest by Jill Reehl and Noelle Whitfield of Get Reehl!, Chicago, and on the West Coast by Brent Novick of Novick & Associates, San Rafael, Calif….Benson/Schafler Artists Management, New York, has signed bicoastal Konk Inc., and Studio V12, Hollywood, for East Coast representation….Shea Bernard has joined the staff of bicoastal Zooma Zooma. She joins Lori Vitale in handling East Coast representation for the production company….Grace & Wild Digital Studios, Farmington Hills, Mich., has promoted Alison Collins to assistant sales manager/group leader, and Kimberly Stricker to sales representative….Jack Reed of Jack Reed Reps, Dallas, will handle sales in the Southwest for director Chris Smith of the newly formed production house Sugar Film Production, Dallas. Smith previously directed commercial and corporate films directly for clients….
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