Ed Markey, the Democrat senator who wrote the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), has co-introduced a new bill that, if passed, would force platforms with users under the age of 16 to radically alter the way they operate.

“As children and teens increasingly spend their time on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat, Congress has yet to implement key safeguards that protect young people’s wellbeing in the current digital media environment,” Markey and fellow bill cowriter Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said in a statement.

Markey added, “Powerful apps push kids to buy products at every turn online, and top platforms are saturated with disturbing content that no kid should ever be exposed to.”

If passed, their bill, the Kids Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act, would force platforms to disable core features such as video autoplay, likes or upvotes, push notifications, and any feature that rewards young users with “badges or other visual award symbols based on elevated levels of engagement with the platform.” That last one is vague, but could potentially target YouTube’s Channel Memberships and Twitch subscriptions (which commonly reward special badges or emojis).

The KIDS Act would also make it illegal for platforms to recommend literally any kind of branded or sponsored content to users under the age of 16. In the bill, Markey and Blumenthal specifically accuse influencer marketing of “expos[ing] children to marketing that is inherently manipulative or purposely disguised as entertainment or other information.”

They also specifically target unboxing videos, referring to them–whether they are sponsored or not–as “host-selling.” Host-selling is a formerly popular and now outlawed children’s TV practice where an animated or live host would endorse a product during the broadcast, or characters from a show would pop up in commercials that played while it aired.

The basic problem lawmakers had with TV host-selling is that, because the advertising involved the show’s host or characters, kids could be unaware it was marketing. Markey and Blumenthal appear to have similar concerns about unboxings. (They aren’t the first. Last year, the public prosecutor’s office in São Paulo, Brazil, filed what appears to be a still-ongoing lawsuit against YouTube alleging that all unboxing videos are “abusive” advertising.)

The KIDS Act wouldn’t force platforms like YouTube to remove unboxing videos, or sponsored content, or influencer marketing, but it would make it illegal for them to “direct” (recommend via algorithm) or “expose” (show at all?) these kinds of content to users under 16.

And that’s where things could get sticky.

YouTube may not be able to tell which users are 16 or younger

As you may know, YouTube was recently hit with a $170 million Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fine for collecting personal data from users under the age of 13–a violation of COPPA. People must be 13 or older to sign up for a YouTube account, but the FTC’s complaint alleged there were a number of users under 13 who were using over-13 accounts (perhaps obtained through an older person or by falsifying their age upon signup) to browse the platform. While they browsed, YouTube’s systems treated them like any other user, collecting and using their personal information. Even though that data collection apparently wasn’t on purpose, it was still a violation of COPPA, and the FTC wanted YouTube to stop.

YouTube couldn’t realistically find and boot out every single under-13 user, so the platform ultimately had to find a workaround through radical changes: In January, it turned off targeted advertising on all “child-attractive” videos and disabled core features like comments, recommendations, and the Save to Playlist function.

That situation is important because if the KIDS Act is passed, YouTube may well be similarly unable to discern exactly which of its users are 16 or under. That means it could be forced to stop recommending and/or showing all sponsored content, influencer marketing, and unboxing videos to everyone.

Of course, it’s possible the act won’t pass, or will change significantly as it goes through the lengthy process of becoming a law. But considering some YouTube creators have lost up to 60% of their monthly ad revenue since January, the bill and its potential consequences are worth keeping an eye on.

You can read the full KIDS Act below.

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Spotify has poached HuffPost’s editor-in-chief, Lydia Polgreen, to run podcast studio Gimlet Media.

Polgreen, who became EIC at HuffPost in December 2016, announced her resignation today with a tweeted statement. “I’ve been an audio obsessive since I was a little expat kid glued to the shortwave radio in our kitchen in Kenya, yearning to connect with the far flung world,” she wrote. “Gimlet has built the greatest audio team in the world, and I’m so lucky to have the chance to learn from them.”

It appears she’ll remain with HuffPost for now, and will head over to Brooklyn-based Gimlet later this month.

Some news! pic.twitter.com/R3Nx3EQWnP

— Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen) March 6, 2020

As HuffPost’s EIC, Polgreen notably shut down its unpaid blogger program in early 2018, saying that while open platforms allowing anyone to post “once seemed radically democratizing” but “now threaten, with the tsunami of false information we all face daily, to undermine democracy.” At the same time, she launched the outlet’s first official paying opinion section as well as HuffPost Personal, a section of first-person essays and staff writer contributions.

Prior to joining HuffPost, she spent 14 years at The New York Times, where she worked as an international correspondent, bureau chief, deputy international editor, and finally editorial director and associate masthead director.

As Gimlet’s head of content, she’ll oversee the company’s entire programming slate, including strategic planning and overall creative vision, Variety reports.

Her hiring is the latest in a long string of signs that Spotify is committing to podcasts for the long run. That string began in early 2019, when the music streaming giant acquired both Gimlet and Anchor, a distribution platform that enables anyone to publish and monetize their own audio shows, for a reported $500 million total. Soon after, it acquired true crime audio specialist Parcast for an unknown sum.

With production and distribution assets in place, it then proceeded to lock down major talent, including: the Obamas and their production studio Higher Grounds; Hollywood directors Paul Feig and Jordan Peele; actors Kevin Bacon and Mark Wahlberg; and YouTubers Ryland Adams and Lele Pons.

The service also significantly overhauled its mobile apps, adding an entire section for podcasts that gives it equal billing with music in users’ libraries.

And, most recently, Spotify acquired Bill Simmons‘ sports-focused news site/podcast network The Ringer for an estimated $196 million. The Ringer reportedly makes a cool $15 million per year in revenue on podcasts alone.

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Exactly one month out from its April 6 launch, Quibi has revealed its full starting slate of 51 shows and movies–plus an unusually long free trial offer.

The Jeffrey Katzenberg-founded streamer has previously revealed that it’s spending more than $1 billion of its $1.75 billion in funding on year one of programming. It plans to premiere 175 new series, comprising a total of around 8,500 individual pieces of content–each of them 10 minutes or less, and meant to be consumed on the go via smartphone.

That doesn’t mean Quibi is avoiding long-form stories, though. Its starting slate reveals it divides programming into three categories: Movies in Chapters, which are full, feature-length films divided into multiple seven-to-10-minute installments; Daily Essentials, which are five-to-six-minute news, entertainment, and lifestyle installments; and unscripted and documentary series, which offer episodes of varying lengths, per Variety.

Launch programs involve some of the major entertainers Quibi has secured deals with over the past year, such as Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Idris Elba, Megan Rapinoe, and Reese Witherspoon.

Along with announcing this first slate, Quibi has revealed it’s offering a 90-day free trial to folks who sign up on its website before April 6. That’s noticeably longer than trials offered by competitive services like Netflix and Disney+; they usually offer one week of look-and-see (unless you’re a Verizon customer). Once the trial is up, Quibi subscribers must pay $4.99 for the service with ads, and $7.99 for no ads.

You can see Quibi’s complete launch slate below:

MOVIES IN CHAPTERS

• “Most Dangerous Game”: Starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz. Desperate to take care of his pregnant wife before a terminal illness can take his life, Dodge Maynard (Hemsworth) accepts an offer to participate in a deadly game where he soon discovers that he’s not the hunter — but the prey. Dystopian action-thriller explores the limits of how far someone would go to fight for their life and their family. Directed by Phil Abraham and written by Nick Santora, both of whom executive produce.
• “When the Streetlights Go On”: After the murder of a beautiful young girl rocks a suburban community, the victim’s sister and her high-school peers must struggle to find a sense of normalcy while coming of age in the midst of the murder investigation. Stars Chosen Jacobs, Sophie Thatcher, Sam Strike, David Lewis, Mark Duplass, Cameron Bancroft, Tony Hale, Beh Ahlers, Kristine Froseth, and Queen Latifah. Directed by Rebecca Thomas; written by Chris Hutton and Eddie O’Keefe.
• “Survive”: Starring Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) and Corey Hawkins (“Straight Outta Compton”). Jane (Turner) wants to end it all. Then a plane crash almost ends it for her. Now she’s crawling from the wreckage with the only other survivor (Hawkins) and a new drive to stay alive. Together they embark on a harrowing journey out of the wilderness, battling brutal conditions and personal traumas. Based on novel of the same name by Alex Morel. Directed by Mark Pellington; written by Richard Abate and Jeremy Ungar.
• “Flipped”: Starring Will Forte, Kaitlin Olson, Arturo Catstro, Eva Longoria and Andy Garcia. Jann and Cricket think they have what it takes to become TV’s newest house-flipping couple. But a Mexican drug cartel thinks so too. Now the delusional duo has to survive their newest project — renovating the cartel’s mansions. Directed by Ryan Case; written by Steve Mallory and Damon James.

UNSCRIPTED AND DOCUMENTARIES

• “Thanks a Million”: Executive produced by Jennifer Lopez, series features grateful public figures who kickstart a chain of kindness by gifting $100,000 to an unsuspecting individual who must pay it forward. Across 10 episodes, $1 million will be doled out to everyday people. Lopez, Kristen Bell, Nick Jonas, Tracy Morgan, Aaron Rodgers, Yara Shahidi, Gabriel Iglesias, Anthony Davis, Kevin Hart and Karlie Kloss will each lead individual episodes.
• “Chrissy’s Court” hosted by Chrissy Teigen: In each episode, Teigen reigns supreme as the “judge” over one small-claims case. Chrissy’s mom turned “bailiff,” Pepper Thai, maintains order in the courtroom.
• “Punk’d”: Hosted and executive produced by Chance the Rapper, the reboot of the MTV show is back to pull the pranks on the Hollywood stars. Jason Goldberg also executive produces.
• “Murder House Flip”: From Josh Berman (executive producer of “CSI”), home renovation show takes on the country’s most infamous homes: ones known for mysterious murders committed behind their walls. Homeowners turn to high-end renovation experts, Mikel Welch and Joelle Uzyel, to remove the stains of the past and take these homes from morbid to marvelous. Executive producers in addition to Berman are Chris King (“Penny Dreadful”), Katherine Ramsland and Star Price (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”).
• “Skrrt with Offset”: Host and executive producer Kiari “Offset” Cephus, who owns over 30 sports and luxury cars, joins his celebrity and rapper friends in exploring all things cars. Guests will include Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, Dapper Dan, Jay Leno, Quavo and Takeoff from Migos, Lil Yachty, and T-Pain.
• “The Sauce”: Competition series in which dancers Ayo and Teo explore unique dance cultures in cities across the U.S., finding the freshest online talent to compete head-to-head for a cash prize. Usher serves as judge and executive producer.
• “Nikki Fre$h”: Starring and executive produced by Nicole Richie, the show combines her passions for wellness and hip hop into her eponymous alter ego, Nikki Fre$h, with a “totally fresh style of music — dropping socially conscious and educational rhymes on the world.” Executive produced by Richie, Michael Baum, and Carrie Franklin.
• “&MUSIC”: Series spotlighting unsung artists behind the world’s biggest music stars. Each episode will reveal an look at a behind-the-scenes collaborator that transforms the performance of an iconic musical artist into a cultural phenomenon. Featuring Scott and Brian Nicholson with Ariana Grande; Gabe Fraboni with Martin Garrix; Ramiro Agudelo with J Balvin; Derek Ali aka MixedByAli with YG; Jasmine Benjamin with Anderson .Paak; and Andrew Watt with Ozzy Osbourne. Directed by Michael D. Ratner, Calmatic, Harrison Macks and J.P. Stiles, from executive producers Michael D. Ratner, Scott Ratner, Elias Tanner, Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson, JD Roth, Adam Greener, Candice Dragonoas, Harrison Macks and JP Stiles.
• “Elba v Block”: Hollywood star Idris Elba and pro driver Ken Block go head-to-head as they pit cars against each other through increasingly outrageous stunts to prove whose car, and which driver, is the best.
• “Gone Mental with Lior”: Professional mentalist Lior Suchard teams with a featured celebrity in each episode and runs them through a string of mental stunts. Featuring Kate Hudson, The Miz (Mike Mizanin), Big E (Ettore Ewen), Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ben Stiller, Rob Gronkowski, James Corden, David Dobrik, and Zooey Deschanel.
• “Singled Out”: Hosted by Keke Palmer and Joel Kim Booster, show hooks up a new generation of singles of all genders and sexual orientations in 20 episodes. The main dater is linked to the pool of potential matches through social media.
• “Gayme Show!”: Hosted by comedians Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni, competition show celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. In each episode, two straight contestants are paired with a celebrity “life partner” as they battle head to head in physical, mental and emotional challenges for the title of “Queen of the Straights.” Guests include Ilana Glazer, D’Arcy Carden, Trixie Mattel, Jon Lovett, Nicole Byer, Rachel Bloom, and Guy Branum.
• “Dishmantled”: Each episode of the cooking competition hosted by Tituss Burgess starts with the cannon-blasting of a mystery food dish into the faces of two blindfolded chefs. They have to identify the exploded dish and then race against the clock to recreate it. Whichever chef comes closest to the original wins a cash prize. Guest judges include Wolfgang Puck, Jane Krakowski, Antoni Porowski, Rachel Dratch, Dany Levy and Roy Choi.
• “You Ain’t Got These”: Show about sneaker culture from executive producer Lena Waithe, who is featured in the series. Guests feature Carmelo Anthony, Billie Jean King, Hasan Minhaj, Candance Parker, Questlove, Nas, Jazerai Allen-Lord, Kerby Jean-Raymond, Mike Epps, Jemele Hill, Lena Waithe, Josh Luber and Eric Koston. Directed by James Adolphus.
• “Fierce Queens”: Presented and narrated by Reese Witherspoon, nature series from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit explores the fabulous females of the animal kingdom — from ant queens to speedy cheetahs. Executive produced by Jo Shinner.
• “Prodigy”: Hosted by soccer star Megan Rapinoe, each episode highlights accomplishments of one notable young athlete. Directed by Lukas Korver and Rand Getlin; written by Lucas Harger.
• “Run This City”: Series following Jasiel Correia II as he navigates his role as the youngest mayor of Fall River, Mass., ever elected to office. When the FBI indicts him for his former company, Correia vows to fight the charges and be vindicated. From executive producers Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, and Brent Hodge, and co-executive producer Javier Quintana. Directed by Brent Hodge and produced by UnREAListic Ideas.
• “Shape of Pasta”: Chef Evan Funke takes viewers on a gastronomic tour of Italy in a quest to find the last remaining masters of the world’s most beloved food: pasta. From executive producers Tim Duffy, Mike Duffy, and April Jones; produced by Ugly Brother Studios.
• “NightGowns”: Eight-episode docuseries follows Sasha Velour as she adapts her Brooklyn drag revue into a full-on stage production — and the biggest drag showcase of her life. Velour works with each member of her ensemble to craft the lip-sync performances, culminating in a made-for-mobile video of their live number directed by music video director Sophie Muller.

DAILY ESSENTIALS

• “The Nod with Brittany & Eric”: Popular podcast is a daily weekday with hosts Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings digging into the biggest moments and most under-explored corners of black culture, as told by the actors, musicians, writers, thinkers, chefs, activists, artists, and everyday people who live it.
• “Last Night’s Late Night”: From Entertainment Weekly, the show recaps late-night television the morning after with a breakdown of the smartest monologues, best interviews and must-see sketches. Hosted by Heather Gardner.
• “The Daily Chill”: Show that takes users on a pathway to calmness, with each episode featuring a new global destination and a new ASMR journey to peace.
• “The Rachel Hollis Show”: Best-selling author, blogger and podcaster Rachel Hollis helps you level up your life with a daily dose of motivation and inspiration. The show will run once daily, Monday through Friday.
• “Sexology with Shan Boodram”: Shan Boodram, a certified sexologist and intimacy expert, shows viewers how to navigate the realities of sex, dating and relationships in a world where the rules of love and attraction are often confusing and fluid.
• “Fashion’s a Drag”: Model/actor Willam Belli joined by supermodel Denise Bidot kick back with their closest drag queen friends to break down what the hottest celebs are wearing and all that’s happening in the world of fashion.
• “60 in 6 by CBS News”: From “60 Minutes” comes a new edition of the TV newsmagazine with a rotating cast of dedicated correspondents. Anchored by Wesley Lowery, Laurie Segall and Enrique Acevedo.
• “Around the World by BBC News”: Drawing on the BBC’s global network, the program presents the “most important and illuminating international stories.”
• “Morning Report by NBC News,” “Evening Report by NBC News,” “Saturday Report by NBC News,” “Sunday Report by NBC News”: News headlines, explainers and features from the broadcast newser, with the Sunday edition taking a detailed look at a single critical issue.
• “Pulso News by Telemundo”: Daily newscast catering to English-speaking Hispanic viewers, anchored by Andrea Martinez.
• “For the Cultura by Telemundo”: Entertainment show celebrating Latino pop culture anchored by Krystal Vega and Freddy Lomeli.
• “Weather Today by The Weather Channel”: 3-5 minute show airing seven days a week with top weather news stories of the day as well as a national forecast. Anchored by Jordan Steele.
• “NewsDay by CTV News” and “NewsNight by CTV News”: Canadian news organization offers two new daily editions of curated news, presented seven days a week. Produced by Bell Media.
• “TSN Sports Show”: Canadian sports network’s daily sports information update every morning, seven days a week. Produced by Bell Media.
• “The Replay by ESPN”: Daily episodes and breaking news covering the biggest stories in sports, hosted by Nabil Karim, Ashley Brewer, and Sebastian Salazar.
• “All The Feels by the Dodo”: A daily feel-good animal story from Group Nine Media.
• “Close Up by E! News”: Pop culture and celebrity daily show from NBCUniversal cable network.
• “Fresh Daily by Rotten Tomatoes”: Fandango-owned entertainment site presents a daily conversation on the latest news, reviews and recommendations from the best in TV, streaming and film.
• “No Filter by TMZ: AM,” “No Filter by TMZ: PM”: Twice-daily entertainment and pop-culture show offering the latest in TMZ’s brand of edgy content.
• “Speedrun by Polygon”: From Vox Media, gaming news show with deep dives into the biggest trending topics, hosted by Jimmy Mondal.
• “Trailers by Fandango”: Latest trailers for movies and TV shows daily, from NBCU’s Fandango.
• “Pop5”: Daily show from Mission Control Media covers everything pop music and goes behind the scenes with today’s top artists. Hosted by Tim Kash.
• “Hot Off the Mic”: Daily show showcasing established and emerging comedians and their takes on the latest headlines. Released five days a week, show will be shot at comedy clubs across the country, beginning with the Improv in Hollywood.

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Google‘s decision to kill off cookies, pushed by stricter online-privacy laws in California and Europe, is becoming a boon to an unexpected group: influencers, who preside over deep troves of data about their followers and can legally share that information when they partner with brands on marketing campaigns.

“They give real data, first-party real reach, first-party views, first-party audience data to the brands,” said Igor Vaks, founder and CEO of CreatorIQ, an influencer-marketing platform used by hundreds of brands to manage their campaigns, including such marketing giants as Disney and Unilever. “It means there are more real, true signals coming out of influencer marketing as a seed for the greater marketing ecosystem.”

That shift has been underway for a while, Vaks told me, but it’s taken off recently, with fleets of influencers authenticating their social media accounts so that brands and tech partners such as CreatorIQ can facilitate data sharing for given campaigns.

“What we see from inside is everybody is doing some kind of influencer marketing,” Vaks said. “But we’re seeing more focus on what’s common between paid influencers and your [company’s] own superfans and [public relations] efforts, to the point where brands are hiring professionals to run influencer programs in-house.”

Creators, agencies, service providers, and analysts have talked with me about this shift, especially at the recent Influencer Marketing Conference and Expo in Los Angeles. For all the challenges of being an influencer–long hours, high expectations, endless creativity demands–it’s also a great time to have a big online audience, or even a small but well-defined one.

The Boom Times Are Here

“We’re in the greatest economic boom for influencers the world has ever seen,” said Evan Morgenstein, who manages a number of online notables as CEO of CelebExperts. “Whether they have 10,000 or 10 million followers, they’re making money from it. Influencers are hot because businesses have no idea how to talk to consumers anymore.”

Under the old online-advertising regime, a brand or its agency could tap lots of third-party data sources, then target ad campaigns with a high degree of precision. That’s getting a lot more difficult to do legally, and will only become more fraught as other states and countries hand down their own regulatory take on data privacy.

But brands still want to know how their campaigns are doing, and want to make sure they’re connecting with the right audiences in compelling ways. That’s where influencer campaigns come in. The influencers themselves have access to the first-party data from their own followers, data they can legally share in aggregated, anonymized form for a specific campaign, with a specific brand. It can be a gold mine for smart companies.

That’s where companies such as CreatorIQ have found a niche functioning as what’s called a “data processor,” connecting brands with influencers–sometimes 30,000 or more at a time in big campaigns. And though nano-influencers don’t have the notoriety or reach of their big-name brethren, they have a place in this world, because their data connects to a tightly defined audience of serious fans.

“The size of the [influencer’s] audience is mattering less and less and the depth is mattering more and more,” said Maayan Gordon, a TikTok consultant and influencer in Spokane, Wa.

Becoming Part of the Big Marketing Budget

I’m hearing more and more brands are moving their influencer marketing spend out of the “experimental” segment and integrating it into broader, more holistically designed campaigns that in turn benefit from the influencers’ deep data.

“When done strategically, influencer marketing delivers far more than a brand’s paid media can,” said Sybil Grieb, the former U.S. head of influencer marketing for Edelman. “Influencers can drive awareness, key messaging, engagement, and most importantly, trust in a way that a brand alone cannot. Together, these add up to increased sales.”

It’s even gotten to the point where influencer marketing will have its own day of company presentations at this year’s reconfigured ad showcase the NewFronts, which will run over eight days beginning  in late April.

The other big shift is toward more ongoing relationships between influencers and brands. Rather than cutting one-time deals, brands are settling in with influencers for the long term, if it’s the right match.

“To get a real corporate partnership, you really have to match their DNA,” Morgenstein said.

With Morgenstein’s client Amanda Meixner Rocchio (a healthy-eating guru and author with 1.4 million Instagram followers), brands “really trust her opinion,” he said. @MeowMeix‘s partners include online-fashion giant Fabletics and Wonderful Foods, which sells pomegranate juice, pistachios, and other products that are a good fit with Rocchio’s own preferences and personal brand.

Matching Product and Personality

It’s that kind of match of product and personality that can pay off, especially when brands want to build long-term relationships with fans of the online personality. Increasingly, brands are buying software and services from companies such as CreatorIQ and big integrated firms such as Deloitte Digital to help them bring that data in-house and make sense of it for their larger corporate aims.

“CMOs and marketers want to be in charge of their own data,” said Andy Main, Deloitte Digital’s global CEO. “The tech has advanced enough that they don’t have to go to the agencies to get the data.”

Companies are also looking inward in other ways, realizing that the customer information they’ve been collecting for decades is as valuable as any information they used to cull from Facebook or YouTube sources, Main said. Integrating that with the influencer data can be a powerful combination.

“Our brand clients still work with agencies, but they want to have the data, want to see the firsthand performance, and want to go back and have direct relationships with the people creating content, not just renting them for a little while,” Vaks said. “And they want to be able to compare them side to side with work from other agencies and PR efforts.”

The key for brands, however, is more than just relying on good data from influencers, said Drieke Leenknegt, Nike’s former global VP of influencer marketing and collaborations.

“What hasn’t changed over the thousands and thousands of years of human existence is the need for storytelling,” said Portland-based Leenknegt, who left Nike a year ago and now consults on marketing and management. (Leenknegt and I had a fireside chat at the IMCX gathering; I’ll be posting a podcast with part of our conversation at Bloom in Tech.)

“If there’s one thing where marketing has not changed, it’s about understanding your consumers and inspiring them with great storytelling,” Leenknegt said. “That is the common thread. The touchpoints to inspire and connect with consumers have changed, but storytelling has not. The stronger your story, the stronger your pull, and the more people will want to work with you.”

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Sam Golbach and Colby Brock, a YouTube duo who have amassed upwards of 4 million subscribers on the strength of their paranormal investigation videos, are hitting the road.

The entrepreneurial duo will embark on their paranormal-themed All In One tour this year, comprising 13 stops across the country beginning on May 10 in Chicago and culminating in Los Angeles on May 26.

The hourlong show will feature immersive experiences encompassing the duo’s numerous business ventures, including their merch brand EXPLR (which stands for ‘explore’ and is produced in collaboration with Fanjoy) and Meta Life — subscription-based online platform that provides participants with emotional health tips and lessons on applicable life skills that are delivered via exclusive videos, posts, and challenges.

In terms of their YouTube output, in which Golbach and Brock investigate haunted locales across the globe, the guys most recently started releasing Return Of The Shadow Man, a four-part series set in a haunted Florida hotel. In 2019, the guys nabbed upwards of 140 million collective views. Other recent series include The Castle and The Graveyard — each of which comprised four episodes — nabbing 8.4 and 13.9 million collective views, respectively. In addition to their massive YouTube presence, the guys also premiered an original Snapchat series called Stranded last year.

Tickets for the All In One tour go on sale today right here.

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Instagram may be looking to add a new dimension to its episodic video hub IGTV.

According to reverse-engineering technician Jane Manchun Wong, the episodic video hub may be experimenting with a new ‘Video Reactions‘ option that would enable viewers to respond to IGTV content with videos of their own.

The option, as uncovered by Wong with a screenshot (below), appears to be baked into the upload process, where creators can choose to enable ‘Video Reactions’. Social Media Today notes that this is similar to the ‘Reactions’ option that has existed on TikTok since 2018. That feature, when selected, records video of viewers as they’re consuming a clip, and then enables them to superimpose that reaction over the original video anywhere around the screen.

In addition to Reactions, TikTok offers a ‘Duet‘ option, where a creators can film a collab of sorts via a split-screen orientation featuring two disparate clips.

And reactions aren’t the only feature with which IGTV is experimenting — amid a fairly tepid response since the platform’s launch in 2018. Most crucially, Instagram confirmed last month that it is internally prototyping a Partner Program — or ad-share monetization — that would enable creators to get paid for their IGTV content.

Instagram is working on IGTV Video Reactions,

allowing people to respond to your IGTV videos with their own pic.twitter.com/dBAiiPFDXk

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 3, 2020

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As part of their multi-year deal with Netflix, the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, has already released two documentaries to date: the Oscar-winning American Factory, about a Chinese billionaire who opens a factory in post-industrial Ohio, and Crip Camp, about a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, which opened this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

And now, Collider reports, the former President and First Lady have their sights set on a scripted feature inspired by the acclaimed novel Exit West, written by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid. The book follows a young couple fleeing from an unidentified country in the Middle East and arriving in new lands — including Mykonos, London, and California — via a series of magical doors.

Collider reports that Avengers: Endgame fraternal directing duo Joe and Anthony Russo acquired the rights to Exit West in 2017, when the book was released. And President Obama included the tome in his list of favorite books of 2017.

Higher Ground is in talks with the Russo brothers to produce the feature through their AGBO production banner, with Riz Ahmed (The Night Of) attached to star and Yann Demange (White Boy Rick) slated to direct. (Ahmen also starred in 2012’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, another Hamid adaptation). AGBO’s Mike Larocca is set to produce the film alongside Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis and Priya Swaminathan, per Collider, with the team currently on the hunt for a screenwriter.

In addition to Exit West, Higher Ground is also developing a film about abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass and a scripted anthology series based on The New York Times’ obituary column Overlooked — which seeks to highlight other figures than the white men that have dominated the Times‘ obituaries since 1851, the paper says.

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As security concerns surrounding TikTok continue to mount — and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has become the latest agency to ban the app on all government-issued devices — TikTok has hired a new chief information security officer to help assuage fears.

The micro-video platform has onboarded Roland Cloutier, who formerly served as the chief security officer at Automated Data Processing, Reuters reports. Cloutier worked at the payroll processing company for 10 years, and before that spent over a decade serving in the United States Air Force, Department Of Defense, and Department Of Veterans Affairs. In this newly-created role, Reuters reports that Cloutier will report directly to TikTok CEO Alex Zhu as the senior-most official dedicated to security.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, has at once taken the U.S. market by storm — particularly among Gen Z — and also spawned an investigation by the U.S. government for allegedly collecting data on its young users, as well as censoring content in line with the aims of the Chinese government. The U.S. Committee On Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has reportedly been in mitigation with TikTok since last November.

Reuters reports that ByteDance is seeking to provide assurances to the government that all personal data collected by the app is secured in the United States and won’t be compromised by Chinese authorities.

News of the hire arrives as the House Of Representatives passed a bill yesterday banning TikTok on all government-issued devices within the TSA. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), the lead sponsor of the motion — which was an amendment to an existing bill — said on the House floor that the app “presents a significant counterintelligence threat,” according to The Hill. The TSA had previously voluntarily banned employees from using the app, but the bill adds new weight. In addition to the TSA, TikTok has also been banned on all government-issued phones within the U.S Army.

Furthermore, The Hill reports that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Wednesday plans to introduce a bill to ban TikTok on government-issued devices for all federal employees.

“While we think the concerns are unfounded, we understand them and are continuing to further strengthen our safeguards while increasing our dialogue with lawmakers to help explain our policies,” a TikTok spokesperson told The Hill of the TSA development.

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YouTube is demonetizing videos about coronavirus under its “sensitive events” policy, the platform confirms to Tubefilter.

This week, a number of creators have alleged that YouTube is demonetizing any video where the coronavirus is mentioned, even if the video’s contents are otherwise unrelated. Some have admitted to actively avoiding using terms like “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” (the virus’s technical name) out of fear YouTube is auto-scanning uploads and demonetizing any containing them.

And, as The Verge notes, some creators have had their videos demonetized for discussing ripple effects of coronavirus–but others haven’t. Gaming outlet Spawn Wave Media (397K subscribers) uploaded a video about the annual Game Developers Conference, which was just cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. The host avoided saying “coronavirus”–instead referring to it as “CV”–but the video was demonetized.

Meanwhile, Linus Tech Tips (10.3 million subscribers) uploaded a video last week advising viewers to purchase computers and computer parts now, because coronavirus could cause manufacturing slowdowns and shortages in China.

“For today’s video, I won’t be directly commenting on the recent health-related news because A, I am not a healthcare professional, and B, I don’t need my video demonetized,” Linus says at the start of the video.

His video does not appear to be demonetized.

I made up abbreviations to say like CV, but it still gets tagged as unsuitable. It was in a video about GDC being cancelled, so maybe events affected by Corona Virus being talked about can trigger their bot for review as well.

— Spawn Wave (@SpawnWaveMedia) March 3, 2020

The videos that are being demonetized are being targeted because of YouTube’s long-standing sensitive events policy, which is part of the platform’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines. Under this policy, YouTube demonetizes any video about a recent “sensitive event”–tragedies like shootings, natural disasters, and pandemics that result in a loss of life—“even if the content is purely commentary or contains no graphic imagery.”

This policy applies only to events that are “relatively recent.” Historical events “are generally allowed to monetize if presented within the context of a documentary or historical debate,” per YouTube.

The COVID-19 outbreak is still ongoing, and thus far has resulted in more than 93,000 confirmed cases and 3,200 confirmed deaths. YouTube began considering it a sensitive event in early February, according to a Creator Insider video uploaded at the time. In the video, Tom Leung, YouTube’s director of product management, said that “all videos focused on this topic will be demonetized until further notice.”

Tubefilter asked YouTube whether mere mentions of the virus (for example, if a creator uploads a makeup tutorial where their signoff is a well wish for coronavirus victims) will result in demonetization, or if ads are only stripped from videos primarily about COVID-19. We also asked whether YouTube scans uploads for mentions of the word “coronavirus” and automatically demonetizes them. The platform declined to provide additional information.

While it’s not clear how far the policy goes, the bottom line is this: YouTube is stripping advertising off coronavirus-related uploads to prevent itself and creators from profiting off content about a worldwide health crisis.

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What a difference a week makes.

In this space not so long ago, we were talking about Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders having a commanding lead in terms of both the popular vote and social video views. Sanders had double the views of any other Democratic candidate for president since the start of February–according to data from video measurement company Tubular Labs–and was in the lead among voters as well after caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

Since then, however, there’s been a surge in both votes and video views for former Obama administration vice president Joe Biden. After struggling in the early states, Biden won the South Carolina primary in convincing fashion this past weekend. That led to him picking up some key endorsements from former rival candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg (both fellow centrists who dropped out this week).

And, riding a new wave of momentum, Biden came out of Super Tuesday the unexpected winner, taking home big victories in states like Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Sanders won states like California, Colorado, Utah, and Vermont, and stuck close on delegate counts in several states won by Biden. Still, Biden appeared to grab the voter lead, and the social video lead, since March 1.

According to Tubular, videos about Biden’s candidacy generated 51 million views on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube between March 1 and 3 (Super Tuesday). Sanders held on to his lead, with 56.5 million views during the same timeframe, but Biden cut into his previous advantage by a considerable margin.

Former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg was third in views with 28.7 million, but it was not enough to keep his campaign alive. Despite a massive ad spend (and dozens of Instagram memes), his candidacy never got off the ground. Of his top 10 videos (by views) since March 1, eight came from Fox News or other conservative outlets/personalities. Just one was from Bloomberg himself. Fox News’ Facebook page (880,000 views) and Instagram feed (705,000) were two of the top three creators for social video content related to his candidacy. The top video–from political personality Jason Howerton–is a Fox News clip.

Biden’s top videos came from a variety of different sources, including a couple opponents. Sanders, his primary foe, generated 2.7 million views about Biden on Twitter (second among all creators). Donald Trump, who would face Biden in a potential presidential race this fall, was fourth with 2.5 million views (on Twitter, of course). Conservative personalities filled in several spots among the top 10, though No. 1 was actually The Shade Room‘s Instagram feed, which generated 3.3 million views from an interview with Biden.

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: @judithnwandu : @natassjaebert _____________________________________ #TSRPolitics: #Roomies, we saw the questions you wanted to ask democratic candidates, so you know we had to take them straight to #JoeBiden! _____________________________________ He talks about everything from reparations for slavery, the 1994 crime bill, black women childbirth mortality rates, all the way to issues around marijuana! _____________________________________ We want to know your thoughts about his answers, and of course, we want you to GET UP AND VOTE! Starting today with #SuperTuesday, opportunities to vote will be spread all across the month of March, so get to the polls and remember, #EveryVoteCounts!

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Mar 3, 2020 at 7:01am PST

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