Digital content & Related technologies

Russian Internet group Rambler sues Amazon’s Twitch for $3 billion

December 17, 2019

Russia’s third-largest internet company Rambler wants a record 180 billion rubles ($2.87 billion) in compensation from Amazon’s streaming giant Twitch over illegal streams, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, the second high-profile action Rambler has taken against a U.S. tech company in less than a week. Rambler wants to ban Twitch and seek damages over what it …

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Amazon Prime acquires distribution rights for Russian TV series

December 11, 2019

Amazon Prime has purchased the European distribution rights for Konstantin Bogomolov’s television series ‘Soderzhanki’ (translated as “Gold Diggers”). The show will be available with German subtitles later this month and French subtitles in January 2020. Amazon Prime has bought the rights to other Russian TV shows before, but this will be the first Russian production presented as part of Amazon Originals and Exclusives, …

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Under Russian pressure, Apple changes Crimea map

November 27, 2019

More than five year after Russia took control of the peninsula, the sovereignty dispute between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea is still sensitive for online service providers. As reported by BBC and Reuters, Apple has complied with Russian demands to show the peninsula as part of Russia in its Maps and Weather apps for Russian users. When using Apple …

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New legislation considers bloggers with income abroad as ‘foreign agents’

November 22, 2019

Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has adopted the final reading of amendments to the law on mass media, applying the status of “foreign agent” to mass media outlets. If approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by the President, the law will designate any legal entities or individuals as foreign agents if they …

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“Anti-Apple” draft bill: Russia could mandate pre-installed Russian-made apps on all devices

November 7, 2019

On November 5, Russia’s State Duma approved the first reading of a new bill that would obligate non-Russian producers of smartphones, computers, and smart TVs to pre-install Russian-made apps on their devices. If it ultimately becomes law, the bill will likely take effect on July 1, 2020. Under such legislation, the executive branch of the …

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Market experts: More than a third of all phone calls in Russia are now made via messengers

September 19, 2019

Instant messengers are the most popular type of smartphone apps in Russia, says a new study by Deloitte cited by Kommersant. While Russians now tend to make online rather than traditional phone calls, 53 % of the study’s respondents say they’ve started using these Internet services more often in the past year. Evolutions in the …

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US digital media company acquires Russian AI-driven content personalization technology

August 29, 2019

US digital media company PressReader has acquired News360, a Russian-founded, California-based provider of content personalization and publisher analytics tools. The amount of the deal, announced last week, has not been disclosed. Founded in Moscow in 2010, News360 has developed a technology that “analyzes and attributes content from any given news story to more than a …

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Sberbank acquires large stake in online media group Rambler

August 27, 2019

Yesterday Sberbank, the state-controlled financial giant, announced it completed the acquisition of a 46.5% stake in Rambler Group, a major online media and entertainment group. The deal, which was approved by the antimonopoly authorities, has given Sberbank equal stake to investment holding company A&NN, while Era Capital owns the remaining 7%. A&NN is affiliated to Russian …

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Wikipedia blocks users who edit articles to praise Russian authorities and take down opposition activists

July 6, 2019

In February 2019, a Russian entrepreneur who uses Wikipedia in his work began to notice something mysterious: a relatively new user on the Russian-language version of the platform was making regular edits to political articles. While the user clearly attempted to dilute the effect of the edits by making politically neutral changes elsewhere, much of …

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Major Russian and international investors to inject $40 million in leading online video platform

June 11, 2019

A group of top Russian and foreign investors is committed to inject $40 million in ivi.ru, Russia’s largest online video platform in terms of revenue. The exact terms of the deal, which is set to be closed by late July, have not been disclosed.  These investors include Russia’s sovereign fund RDIF, Mubadala Investment Company (UAE), Baring …

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How federal censors monitor and punish Russia’s mass media

June 12, 2019

The arrest of Ivan Golunov under drug trafficking charges on June 6 triggered a flurry of emotion in the Russian media and social scene. Many see in the case a manipulation to intimidate or punish an independent-minded journalist and its employer, the Riga-based online publication Meduza, whose investigations often target behind-the-scene interests in the Russian …

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Yandex launches AI-powered smart home gadgets and video stream features

May 23, 2019

Today Yandex, the NASDAQ-listed Russian Internet giant, announced two high-tech, AI-related novelties. The company unveiled what it touts as “Russia’s first smart home ecosystem.” It is powered by Alice, the smart assistant which Yandex launched two years ago and made the news in sometimes surprising ways.  “Alice can now turn on lights, adjust a thermostat, control …

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