Scott Pelley's disclosures & firing underscore why Ellison takeover of Warner's & control of #CNN & more, requires responsible state AGs to do all they can. This is more than about @SixtyMinutes. Symptom of decades of failure on media policy & critical call for reforms. But first #fightthemerger

EU regulators should investigate Paramount Skydance's deep connections to EU & other media holdings, such as bit.ly/3QfUTPo; imimedia.com/en/portfolio... Competition, news & program diversity impacts. www.mediaplaynews.com/paramount-as...

Such US gov’t cross data integration uses, inc via platform partners listed, requires scrutiny. www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/ne...

Competition, privacy, consumer protection & Gen AI regulators/advocates should examine how potential LiveRamp data will further feed AI marketing/targeting models developed by Publicis. Note ad agency giant related recent digital data buying sprees too. www.publicisgroupe.com/en/news/pres...

The Publicis takeover of LiveRamp illustrates the explosion of commercial agentic AI surveillance marketing worldwide. Growing threats to public, from invasive marketing to privacy to payments to ongoing data+ad+platform media consolidation. Advocates/regulators should address. bit.ly/3P9KrZp

Bended knee, financial services division. www.paymentsdive.com/news/paypal-...

Gen AI lobbyists using same old tired policy playbook, arguing against needed safeguards. Just like Google, Facebook & other digital giants fought any privacy regs. That's how we ended up with commercial surveillance; GenAI marketing ushering in more powerful surveillance & manipulation system.

The Ellison's cross-platform media & political play, funded Sheikh to Sheikh. This deal is not about competition & diverse content. It's about control by a few with foreign links that threaten US production too. #WBD #blockthemerger

Trump Adm. monetizes public health. post #USAID. Mike Reid, PEPFAR’s chief science officer resigns, "When access to treatment or prevention becomes entangled with access to critical minerals or geopolitical positioning, the work is no longer what it claims to be." open.substack.com/pub/reimagin...

What were "brand safety" protections for online content that @AFergusonFTC fears: "adult & explicit sexual content, crime & harmful acts to individuals, hate speech & acts of aggression, obscenity & profanity, illegal drugs, terrorism, misinformation (verifiably false content)." bit.ly/486bHOx

Antitrust, data & consumer protection regulators should focus on Amazon's further expansion on mobile devices, esp in the Gen AI commercial surveillance marketing 3.0 era. www.aboutamazon.com/news/company...

Shameful action weakening online safeguards for kids as well as broader public. Big data marketing agencies on bended knee to FTC. www.mediapost.com/publications...

On both bended & branded knee. Shape on the ad giants, which may include WPP & Publicis, for caving in to the Trump FTC. Their clients will ultimately pay. www.wsj.com/business/med... via @WSJ

OpenAI buying a finance app part of this commercial surveillance marketing 3.0 story--Gen AI for shopping, payments, ads. Agentic monetization at core of Gen AI apparatus. www.engadget.com/ai/openai-ac...

GenAI is the foundation for the Commercial Surveillance 3.0 era. Ads, marketing, sales is what AI is being shaped to deliver--with less privacy, autonomy, & greater control by #BigTech. OpenAI has quietly launched its ads manager as it races to build out its ads business bit.ly/3QEc1Ot

Continued shameful behavior from Meta. Don't they have a mirror around there? Scoop: Meta removes ads for social media addiction litigation www.axios.com/2026/04/09/m...

Commercial surveillance 3.0 via #GenAI for ads & marketing will be the key business model, as it has been with online from start. Young people & everyone else will be targets for automated & intelligent monetization. Time for action. openai.com/index/introd... www.axios.com/2026/04/09/o...

Netflix & McDonald's marketing combo cashes in on your calories, with a data gathering side: "Every Saja Boys Breakfast Meal and HUNTR/X Meal comes with a collectible card pack.. Fans can scan the QR code on each Derpy access card and enter the unique code on the McDonald’s App..." bit.ly/4e4IpDB

Trump FTC released its four-year strategic plan. By failing to call for regulation of GenAI, agency not protecting U.S. privacy, consumers & their financial security. www.ftc.gov/system/files...

Public health advocates, regulators, need to examine use of tobacco in films & other entertainment, inc. any tobacco biz links for promotion, influence. Cigarettes Get a Sequel: Hollywood’s ‘Cool’ Bad Habit Is Back open.substack.com/pub/theankle...

Today's #SesameStreet is brought to us by letter D--for data collection. Public requires data & parent-targeted ad free viewing for kids series. tubitv.com/static/privacy; corporate.tubitv.com/press/sesame...

@SesameWorkshop needs to explain its deal with #Tubi, inc. whether & what parental & kids data gathered, inc. used for ads, marketing. At a time of addictive social media, public media should not contribute to commercial surveillance, inc via streaming TV. corporate.tubitv.com/press/sesame...

Ellison's TikTok just unveiled tools used by his Paramount & soon to be Warner Bros. to leverage platform promotion for films, media content. Illustrates why TikTok role part of antitrust, consolidation, privacy review. newsroom.tiktok.com/newfronts-26... bit.ly/3NMoy1i

Decision against Elon Musk claim of antitrust violation by advertisers working together to set modest safeguards places reason before rage (over lack of monetization for X due to what's called brand safety). Useful to see in light of successful social media addiction cases. bit.ly/4lWNXSL

It's sad news that the leading public service media co would choose someone from a company that has engaged in far-reaching commercial surveillance data marketing; targets minors with ads; harnesses influencers; cozies up to gov't, etc. I do not know Mr. Brittin. But wrong background & message.

Paramount/Skydance takeover of WBD will not lead to diverse & creative IP production, more employment & theatrical releases. It delivers greater media control to a handful of Trump-linked investors, focused on global release payoffs via streaming, sports, gaming.

EU should regulate streaming video networks, platforms & TV set co's on Smart TV--not just Google, Amazon, etc. Inside digital TVs are multiple sets of control, with data gathering, surveillance, manipulation (inc via AI). Background: bit.ly/47NU45U www.reuters.com/sustainabili... bit.ly/4v1N0wG

Even the commercial surveillance lobby knows Meta can’t be trusted. www.mediapost.com/publications...

At today's @SenAdamSchiff Hollywood hearing, re Ellison's Paramount+Warner's (add TikTok US) takeover. Speak out about the chain of Big $, policy giveways & deals, including connection to further global media consolidation.

Regulators should dig into Tegna & Nexstar market power +data consolidation, inc. for ads, via use of new digital capabilities. Privacy issues too. For ex: rbr.com/dynamic-ad-i...; www.oxagile.com/article/how-...

#WarnerMount litigation: "alleges that a $10 billion payment by Oracle and its co-investors to the Trump administration in the TikTok deal is a “quid pro quo” for Trump’s personal assurance that the administration would support and facilitate Paramount’s acquisition of WBD." bit.ly/4tdenCj

If the #FTC really wants to protect the privacy of children, it mus enact age "assurance" safeguards--not just age verification. @EPICprivacy @fairplayforkids @DigitalDemoc explain to FTC & public. democraticmedia.org/publishings/...

Commercial surveillance marketing 3.0 is shaping global GenAI operations. Look at the job openings @ #OpenAI & it's just like Facebook/Meta was a decade ago. Time to intervene is now. Ex: openai.com/careers/adve...

YouTube requires video (& privacy) regulation--it is a production+advertising+distribution conglomerate. Not a passive publisher. YouTube Lays Claim to Another Crown: The World’s Largest Media Company www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig... via @thr

Congrats to @SenMarkey for decades long leadership to protect Americans online & off--and now again kids+teens. democraticmedia.org/publishings/...

Don't expect Trump FTC to address affordability--what you pay for groceries. Consumer protection head says "Surveillance pricing was a term made up by the last admin... not sure I accept that premise either." Shows they don't want to know how the digital data market harms consumers. bit.ly/3MO7asO

Spies are us. www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-i...

As Ted Sarandos of Netflix told Bloomberg, reflecting its review of WBD financials, the proposed Ellison takeover via huge debt will mean "less people working, less production." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Reading "Republicans use Iran strikes to pressure Dems in DHS funding fight" subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026... via @POLITICOPro

Digital media consolidation grows. Yesterday, Meta & Google; Ellison TikTok+Paramount/CBS+WBD/CNN & today: www.reuters.com/business/ret...

The Ellison TikTok+Paramount/CBS, & soon + WBD combo requires scrutiny of all its digital operations & foreign ownership partners, investments. Lots of global issues here too.

Addressing decades of media consolidation & non-regulation--digital, data, cable TV & now Gen AI--requires sustained action. Ellison Paramount/ WBD takeover must be opposed. See too Google deal with Meta. Undoing partnerships must be on agenda too. bit.ly/4tZdI8o

@BrendanCarrFCC pressure campaign on media co's must be resisted. Carr thinks McCarthy era led to great journalism. Via Politico: "FCC Chair Brendan Carr wants broadcasters to air “patriotic, pro-America content” to support the White House’s plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary."

Meta/social media addiction: Answer by Meta AI "Adolescents (13-17 years old) are a significant market for Meta, given their high social media usage and influence on family spending. Meta's platforms have a large user base in this age group, making them a key demographic for advertisers."

Jeff Bezos profits on bended knee as journalism for democracy burns. Politico: "Amazon's tax bill plunges after GOP tax cuts--ran a $1.2 billion tax bill last year, down from $9 billion the previous year, and even as its profits jumped by 45 percent to nearly $90 billion..."

How long will Anthropic keep promise? "history of ad-supported products suggests that ad incentives...expand over time...integrated into revenue targets and product development, blurring boundaries ...once more clear-cut. We’ve chosen not to introduce these..." www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...

Commercial Surveillance marketing shaped online operations since start, now enables role Gen AI plays in disinformation. As AI by Platforms/Brands unleash real-time personalized media omnichannel, fake will become more commonplace. Digital media reform req'd. Background ex: bit.ly/3M4h09u

FTC @AFergusonFTC doesn't understand the kids' digital market. Age verification a distraction. You need to regulate the ever accelerating commercial surveillance marketing system. Real "privacy by design" eliminates the branding, selling, engagement, etc--now driven by Gen AI. bit.ly/4qR8ycH

Relevant to Netflix/WBD; commercial surveillance 3.0; furthering reduction of content diversity, etc. "The Math Doesn't Work": Why 2026's $1T Ad Market Is Bad News for Storytellers, by @aagave open.substack.com/pub/parqor/p...