Canadian production company Merchant has added director Christopher Sargent to its roster for commercial representation in Canada. Sargent began his career as a VFX supervisor for television and commercials in 2005, then quickly moved into directing and cinematography for commercials and music videos in 2007. Since then, Sargent has consistently worked on major global campaigns with assorted brands and agencies winning numerous advertising awards, including Cannes Lions. One of his Super Bowl spots for Anheuser-Busch from 2017 received over two billion online impressions. Sargent is currently in various stages of development on the feature films Fixin’ To Die, The Godforsaken Sea and Hairfang. He lives between Canada and California with his family, and continues to be repped by Anonymous Content in the U.S. and U.K. markets….
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More
