In case you had any doubt how YouTube feels about artists, the company made its views clear in November with a sneaky alteration to how it monetizes videos. If you were among those who always thought that YouTube feels nothing for artists, this news proved you were 100% correct! “Starting... Read more
Big Tech companies have a knack for wielding the “free speech” argument as a shield to avoid tackling the systemic criminal behavior on their platforms. This tendency bleeds into the realms of copyright disputes and content protection, where Big Tech’s deep-pocketed, anti-copyright advocacy network often vilifies efforts to fight piracy... Read more
By Justin Sanders
By Justin Sanders There are flickers of light at the end of our long, dark pandemic tunnel – but, for now, we are still stumbling through it, groping for purchase as we try to find our way out. Fortunately, there are moments of illumination along this journey, blazing moments of... Read more
February 10, 2021 Dear Diary, Well, we’re having another bad Facebook day. They won’t let us run our “promoted post” ads again. We’ve had problems before, but for the last few months they’ve mostly sailed through. But our boost this week got rejected – they sent us the dreaded “This... Read more
By Justin Sanders
“To act, someone needs to give you a great role. To direct, you need a great play. To design, you need a production. But to write, all you need is an idea and a pen and some blank paper and you can command your own future.” It’s as stirring a... Read more
In October 2019, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rounded up an audience in a classically appointed lecture hall at Georgetown University and declared, “Giving everyone a voice empowers the powerless and pushes society to be better over time.” “The ability to speak freely,” he added, “has been central in the fight... Read more
By Justin Sanders
The pandemic has been a devastating experience – but like many devastating experiences it has also been a catalyst for creativity. Over this past year, artists have found new inspiration not only in terms of subject matter, but in how they package and present their work. Previously, we looked at... Read more
By Ruth Vitale
One of the most important lessons I have learned in my three-plus decades as a film executive is the importance of storytelling. The biggest budget and the most famous stars in the world will rarely save a film if the narrative is broken. If audiences cannot follow the story, the... Read more
The last update to our chronological compendium of Google’s harmful misdeeds ended with an October 2020 bombshell, as the United States Department of Justice formally charged the company with antitrust violations related to its search and advertising businesses. Since then, we’ve seen the ramifications of this federal antitrust lawsuit rapidly unfold. As one... Read more
Whatever the fallout of the political violence that has already dogged 2021, one thing is certain: Facebook will be under more scrutiny than ever for its role in fomenting it. The platform has shown in recent years that it is willing to “do something” to moderate hateful and illegal content... Read more