Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates
- ClickInsights
- 11 hours ago
- 5 min read
Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Meta Adds More Languages To AI Translations for Reels
Meta has announced an update to its AI translation options for Reels, with an additional five languages now available within its translation options.
In a press release, the company said that users can now use Meta AI to translate reels into Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Marathi, in addition to Hindi, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The addition of more of the languages spoken in India is significant, because India is now the biggest single market for both Facebook and Instagram usage, beating out the U.S. by a significant margin.
2. FTC Announces Appeal in Meta Antitrust Case
Despite a federal judge ruling against the FTC in its long-running antitrust case against Meta back in November, the FTC has today announced that it’s appealing the ruling, which will force Meta back to court once again, and drag the case into its fifth year of litigation.
The case was initially launched back in 2020, when the FTC alleged that Meta had built a social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. The suit specifically focuses on the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and alleges that Meta acquired both to neutralize its competition.
3. Meta Bans Teen Access To AI Bot Characters
Meta is banning teen access to its AI chatbots in different personas, as it looks to implement a new system that will ensure more safety in their usage, and address concerns about teens getting harmful advice from these options.
Back in October, Meta introduced new parental control options to manage how kids interact with AI profiles across its apps, following concerns that some chatbots were giving teens harmful advice. Reports showed certain bots offering dangerous guidance on self-harm, disordered eating, and even buying drugs discreetly. The issue triggered an FTC investigation, prompting Meta to add stricter controls to help parents limit and monitor teen interactions with AI chatbots.
4. TikTok Launches New Ad Options for Streaming Providers
TikTok is launching a new option for streaming providers, which guides users directly into the subscription flow from the TikTok feed. The new Streaming Ads option will showcase streaming subscription offers, and link viewers through to sign up.
TikTok is also rolling out “New Title Launch,” an ad format designed to help promote major releases on streaming services in-stream. TikTok will be promoting these new options at the Sundance Film Festival, which begins later this week, with TikTok also bringing a crew of #FilmTok influencers along to capture the key news and events.
5. TikTok Confirms Joint Venture To Comply With US Law
TikTok has officially confirmed that it’s established a new joint venture with a group of U.S. partners to meet the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in the U.S., which will ensure that the platform remains in operation for U.S. users.
TikTok says that the USDS Joint Venture’s mandate is to secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures. The business will be overseen by a seven person panel, including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Egon Durban of Silver Lake, and Kenneth Glueck from Oracle. The new venture will also cover CapCut and Lemon8, as well as a portfolio of other apps and websites in the U.S.
6. Instagram Tests Displaying ‘Friends’ Instead of ‘Following’
Instagram is currently testing out an update to the profile display, which would change your “Following” count to “Friends” instead, the people who mutually follow you in the app.
The “Following” count has been switched to “Friends” instead, showing how many people you have a reciprocal content relationship with in the app. Instagram has confirmed the live test to Business Insider, saying that it’s currently a small-scale experiment to see how people respond to highlighting friend connections.
7. Snapchat Adds New Insights to Family Center
Snapchat has announced some new updates to its Family Center tools, which will give parents more insight into how their kids are using the app, and who they’re connecting with.
First off, parents will now be able to view expanded insight into how kids are spending their time in the app, with an updated display that shows the total time each day, and how much time they’re spending using specific Snapchat features. It is also adding new “Trust Signals” info within the Family Center, which will give parents more context as to who their kids are engaging with in the app.
8. Pinterest Adds Media Planner To Help Manage Campaigns
Pinterest has added a new “Media Planner” element to its advertising tools, which will provide another way to maintain oversight and control of your Pin campaigns and promotions.
Pinterest’s Media Planner will give you broader oversight of your Pin campaigns, including notes on targeting and performance estimates, making it easier to stay up-to-date across all of your variables. You’ll be able to track each ad set within each campaign, so it’s kind of like Meta’s Ad Manager platform, making it easier to manage your process.
9. X Adds Starter Packs To Help Users Find Relevant Creators
X is rolling out Starterpacks, curated lists of creators grouped by interests, professions, and communities.
Starterpacks are considered as collections of active accounts within a particular niche. Instead of searching hopelessly or relying on an unpredictable algorithm, users can now follow a ready-made group of creators . Bluesky introduced Starter Packs back in 2024, mainly to help users adjust to unfamiliar usernames and communities.
10. X Experiments With Paid Promotion Tags
X is developing new content tags, which would make it easier for creators to run paid promotions within the X feed, with a simple tagging option to indicate the partnership.
X already has parameters in place for paid promotions and disclosure, though transparency is still manual. X could also look to build out the tag a little more, in order to give brands access to performance analytics and insights, as they can now access in other social apps.
11. EU Launches Investigation Into X Over Grok-Generated Images
The EU Commission has announced a new investigation into X’s Grok AI chatbot, which many have been using to generate non-consensual nudes and sexualized images.
The new investigation will assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok’s functionalities into X in the EU. This includes risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
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