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  • Thursday, May. 16, 2024
Facebook and Instagram face fresh EU digital scrutiny over child safety measures
The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. The European Union opened fresh investigations Thursday, May 16, 2024 into Facebook and Instagram over suspicions that they're failing to protect children online, in violation of the bloc's strict digital regulations for social media platforms. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
By Kelvin Chan, Business Writer
LONDON (AP) -- 

The European Union opened fresh investigations Thursday into Facebook and Instagram over suspicions that they're failing to protect children online, in violation of the bloc's strict digital regulations for social media platforms.

It's the latest round of scrutiny for parent company Meta Platforms under the 27-nation EU's Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations that took effect last year with the goal of cleaning up online platforms and protecting internet users.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, said it's concerned that the algorithmic systems used by Facebook and Instagram to recommend content like videos and posts could "exploit the weaknesses and inexperience" of children and stimulate "addictive behaviour." It's worried that these systems could reinforce the so-called "rabbit hole" effect that leads users to increasingly disturbing content.

The commission is also looking into Meta's use of age More

  • Thursday, May. 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut helps ESPN set viewership record for league game on network
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) puts up a 3-point shot to score against the Connecticut Sun during the fourth quarter of a WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

ESPN's broadcast of the Connecticut Sun's game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever had the highest viewership for a WNBA game on the network.

The Sun's 92-71 win over the Fever in Clark's WNBA debut on the league's opening night on Tuesday drew an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, including a high of 2.3 million viewers between 7:45 p.m. and 7:59 p.m. That topped ESPN's previous mark of nearly 1.5 million viewers for a Phoenix Mercury-Connecticut Sun game on May 22, 2004, in Diana Taurasi's rookie season.

The second game between Phoenix and the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces averaged 464,000 viewers, with the two games averaging 1.28 million — a 192% increase over the league's average last year for broadcasts on ESPN.

Clark set the NCAA all-time scoring record at Iowa last season and she was a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the national championship game, which More

  • Wednesday, May. 15, 2024
Netflix will carry NFL games on Christmas Day for 3 years, including 2 this upcoming season
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. Netflix and the NFL announced a three-year deal Wednesday, May 15, 2024. to stream games on Christmas Day, which includes the Chiefs taking on Steelers on Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Travis Heying, File)
By Joe Reedy

Netflix and the NFL announced a three-year deal Wednesday to stream games on Christmas Day.

The streaming giant will carry two games this year and at least one game in 2025 and '26. Netflix announced during a presentation to advertisers that it will have defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City at Pittsburgh followed by Baltimore at Houston.

The NFL has played a total of 30 games on Christmas Day since 1971, including three last year. It has stayed away from midweek games, though, until this year.

Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, said the plan was presented to owners during the league meetings in March, where teams playing on Christmas Day would have their Week 16 games on Saturday, which would give them the same amount of prep time they normally have in a short week when playing on Sunday and Thursday.

After owners gave the go ahead to proceed, Netflix approached the league about airing the games More

  • Wednesday, May. 15, 2024
Billionaire Frank McCourt says he's putting together a consortium to buy TikTok
In this Oct. 23, 2016 file photo, U.S. businessman Frank McCourt looks on during the French League One soccer match between PSG and Marseille at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
By Haleluya Hadero

Billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt said he's putting together a consortium to purchase TikTok's U.S. business, adding to the number of investors hoping to benefit from a new federal law that requires TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the popular platform or face a ban.

The announcement, made Wednesday, said the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers was organizing the bid in consultation with the investment bank Guggenheim Securities and "with the goal of placing people and data empowerment at the center of the platform's design and purpose."

If a sale occurs, McCourt said he would plan to restructure TikTok and give more agency to people "over their digital identities and data" by migrating the platform to an open-source protocol that allows for more transparency.

Other investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed a desire to purchase TikTok. However, parent More

  • Wednesday, May. 15, 2024
Effie Awards U.S. names 2024 Grand Jury members
Brian Robinson (l), global chief strategy officer & head of growth, Havas Health, and Michelle Schloman, chief data & analytics officer, Omnicom Commerce
NEW YORK -- 

Effie United States has announced the marketing leaders who will serve on the Grand Jury for the 2024 Effie Awards U.S. competition and select the most effective marketing effort of the year as recipient of the Grand Effie for “best in show.” 

The Effie Awards are a global benchmark of excellence, championing the outstanding achievements of marketers everywhere by recognizing and celebrating the work that has proven its impact and driven real, measurable results. 
 
The 2024 Effie Awards US Grand Jury members are:

  • Kamran Asghar, CEO & Co-Founder, Crossmedia US
  • Ricardo Aspiazu, VP, Creative & Brand Management, Verizon
  • Yusuf Chuku, EVP, Client Advisory, NBCUniversal
  • Lyndsey Corona, President & Partner, US, Slap Global
  • Dhiraj Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, Dashlane
  • Sarah Larsen, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung Home Entertainment
  • Thomas Ranese, Chief Marketing More
  • Tuesday, May. 14, 2024
OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever announces departure from ChatGPT maker
The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. One of the original creators of the artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT says he is leaving the company after a nearly decade. OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever announced his decision on the social media site X on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Sutskever will be replaced by Jakub Pachocki as chief scientist at OpenAI. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- 

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, one of the original creators of the artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT, said Tuesday he is leaving the company after nearly a decade.

Sutskever was one of four board members last fall who voted to push out CEO Sam Altman from the company — only to quickly reinstate him. It was Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist, who told Altman last November that he was being fired.

Sutskever announced his decision on the social media site X. He said he is working on a new project that is "very personally meaningful" to him, but he offered no other details.

Altman, meanwhile, wrote that parting ways is "very sad" and called Sutskever "one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend."

Sutskever will be replaced by Jakub Pachocki as chief scientist at San Francisco-based OpenAI. Altman called Pachocki "also easily one of the greatest minds of our More

  • Tuesday, May. 14, 2024
LOBO launches standalone live-action division
Luis Ribeiro (l) and Paul Amorese
NEW YORK -- 

LOBO, best known for its work in animation, design and mixed media, has launched a standalone live-action division which includes the international company expanding its presence in the U.S. market. This entails full live production services being led by New York-based executive producer Paul Amorese, a four-year LOBO veteran. 

Meanwhile LOBO’s headquarters in Brazil houses a state-of-the-art studio, which regularly attracts U.S. brands to South America. One such example is Coca-Cola’s “Recycle Me” campaign created by Ogilvy New York and produced by LOBO.

LOBO is no stranger to live action. The company’s animation-led projects often include live-action elements. And as the industry continues to shift, the speed at which LOBO adapts is fast becoming one of its biggest strengths. 

With the recent buzz surrounding generative art, for example, LOBO utilized AI for the concepting phase of their film, “SAP Office Cat.” Working in More

  • Tuesday, May. 14, 2024
Sony reports surge in profit on strong sales of movies, games and music
The Sony Pictures Plaza building is seen, Dec. 19, 2014, in Culver City, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
By Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) -- 

Profit at Sony surged 34% in the last quarter on strong sales of its video games, music and movies, the Japanese electronics and entertainment company said Tuesday.

Tokyo-based Sony Corp.'s quarterly profit totaled 189 billion yen ($1.2 billion), up from 141 billion yen the year before. Quarterly sales for the maker of the PlayStation game machines rose 14% to 3.48 trillion yen ($22 billion).

For the fiscal year through March, Sony recorded a 3% decline in profit at 970 billion yen ($6.2 billion) from more than 1 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. Its annual sales climbed 19% to 13 trillion yen ($83 billion).

Sony's operating profit was hurt by its financial services segment, which is being partially spun off next year. Sony's chief financial officer and president, Hiroki Totoki, said the company is reshaping its strategy to focus on its more profitable entertainment operations.

"We hope to improve our profitability More

  • Tuesday, May. 14, 2024
A French court clears director Roman Polanski of defaming a British actor
British actor Charlotte Lewis reacts after the verdict against filmmaker Roman Polanski Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in Paris. Roman Polanski was acquitted of defaming the actor whom he described as a liar after she accused the director of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PARIS (AP) -- 

A French court acquitted filmmaker Roman Polanski Tuesday of defaming a British actor whom he described as a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. The case stems from a 2019 interview with Paris Match magazine, where Polanski allegedly called Charlotte Lewis a liar following her accusations.

The court's ruling did not address the truth of the rape allegation but focused solely on whether Polanski's comments in the interview constituted defamation against Lewis. Polanski denied the charges.

The verdict was delivered Tuesday afternoon in a Paris court.

Lewis said she felt let down by the verdict and would appeal.

"I feel sad," she said. "For us, it's not over."

Polanski was not in court. His lawyer Delphine Meillet called him to announce the news. She said the court recognized his right to challenge people who make accusations against him. She noted that the verdict came on the opening day of the Cannes Film More

  • Tuesday, May. 14, 2024
Iranian filmmaker flees to Europe after prison sentence ahead of his Cannes premiere
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof poses during a photo call for the film "The Immigrant" at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France on May 24, 2013. Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings just ahead of his planned trip to the Cannes film festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
CANNES, France (AP) -- 

After being sentenced to eight years in prison, the award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof says he's fled to Europe shortly ahead of the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his latest film.

"I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey," Rasoulof said in a statement dated Sunday and distributed by press agents Monday.

Last week, Rasoulof's lawyer told The Associated Press that the director had been sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging and confiscation of property by the Islamic Republic. Rasoulof's attorney, Babak Paknia, said the filmmaker was being punished for making films and signing statements.

Iranian authorities haven't yet acknowledged Rasoulof's sentence and there was no immediate comment on his departure. Rasoulof and other artists had co-signed a letter urging authorities to put down their weapons amid demonstrations over a 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people in More

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