Here are some of the best media stories our team has read so far this week:

• The New Republic | Google Has a Facebook Problem (5 min read)
• Wired | Facebook Is Steering Users Away From Privacy Protections (5 min read)
• Reuters | Facebook’s hidden data haul troubles German cartel regulator (3 min read)
• Reporters Without Borders | RSF Index 2018: US falls as Canada rises (4 min read)
• Digiday | ‘We want publishers to think the unthinkable’: How Axel Springer is reducing its reliance on Google ad tech (3 min read)
• The Wall Street Journal | Who Has More of Your Personal Data Than Facebook? Try Google (6 min read)
• Digiday | Once focused on scale, Hearst is cutting back on aggregation and viral fluff (4 min read)
• The New York Times | European Regulators Ask if Facebook Is Taking Too Much Data (8 min read)
• Nieman Lab | Should you design for addiction or for loyalty? (6 min read)