Media and Telecom Sector

Channelnewsasia.com reports that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is preparing a potential lawsuit against YouTube after investigating whether the platform misled users regarding its content and speech enforcement policies. The inquiry, handled by lawyers in the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, examines whether the video-sharing platform violated consumer protection laws by banning or demoting content and suspending accounts after users signed up under the belief they could post specific material. Alphabet's platform has faced scrutiny since last year under FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, though some career staff have privately disagreed with pursuing a case and the investigation could still conclude without enforcement action.

theverge.com reports that Meta is updating its AI-powered smart glasses to close a loophole that allowed wearers to keep recording after covering the front-facing LED. Alex Himel, Meta vice president of augmented reality, stated on Threads that the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording. This fix arrives shortly after Meta updated the hardware to turn off the camera when wearers physically tamper with the capture light. Meta is launching a marketing campaign in communities where glasses sales have been popular to raise awareness about the recording indicator. A billboard currently up in Los Angeles displays the smart glasses alongside a caption explaining that the light signals when photos or videos are being captured.

cbsnews.com reports that Netflix hosted an exclusive 25-minute preview of Grand Theft Auto 6 for its streaming subscribers ahead of its November 19 commercial launch. The promotional event stems from a partnership between Netflix and Rockstar Games, allowing subscribers to view gameplay footage featuring protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Camino. Non-subscribers can access the preview on Rockstar's website and YouTube. Piper Sandler estimates the title will sell 35 million copies by April 2027. Pricing for the game starts at $79.99 and reaches $99.99 for the ultimate edition.

According to techcrunch.com, social network Bluesky has introduced an algorithmic opt-out feature that lets users prevent their posts from appearing in the app's main Discover feed. Public posts remain visible by default to existing followers, but the new privacy setting restricts wider distribution to strangers. Users can enable the toggle directly within the app's Privacy and Security settings, though the preference can take up to an hour to fully take effect. Because the choice is recorded at the account level, the preference travels with users across other applications powered by the underlying AT Proto protocol, provided those third-party apps choose to respect it. The rollout follows Bluesky's recent addition of support for longer videos and precedes any broader implementation of private data at the protocol level.

TechCrunch reports that YouTube now allows eligible U.S. creators to tag Amazon products directly in their shorts, long-form videos, and livestreams to earn sales commissions. The native integration eliminates the need for creators to paste external Amazon Associates links in video descriptions. Amazon supplies a curated catalog of trending items for the feature, which also includes auto-tagging support via YouTube's automated systems. Creators track their earnings through daily summaries in YouTube Studio, though returns result in commission deductions from their balances. International viewers can see the tags, with YouTube automatically routing purchases to local merchant offers or the U.S. Amazon site when necessary.

MTN Group has secured conditional approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for its $2.2 billion acquisition of the remaining stake in IHS Towers. The transaction values the tower operator at an enterprise value of $6.2 billion. As a condition of the clearance, MTN must sell down up to 30 percent of the Nigerian component of IHS to local investors on an arm's-length basis. The NCC also attached safeguards requiring MTN to maintain existing commercial contracts, avoid infrastructure exclusivity, and submit an investment plan with measurable milestones. MTN agreed in February to buy the shares it does not already own for $8.50 each, intending to delist IHS from the New York Stock Exchange. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2026, lifting MTN's net debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 0.3x to 0.8x.

hollywoodreporter.com reports that former ESPN host Sage Steele has signed with HeartRock Partners for management representation. Founder and CEO Alec Shankman confirmed the signing of the veteran anchor, who currently hosts the weekly video podcast The Sage Steele Show. Steele counts more than 228,000 subscribers on YouTube, 668,000 followers on Instagram, and over half a million on X. She was previously represented by CAA, which she later sued over its handling of her exit from ESPN in August 2023. HeartRock launched less than a year ago with headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, and satellite offices in Los Angeles and New York. The firm currently manages a roster of nearly four dozen clients, including Josh Gates, Sadie Robertson, and Joey Graceffa.

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