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 Files Motion to Dismiss FTC Antitrust Lawsuit
Meta’s moved to dismiss a pending lawsuit from the F.T.C., which was originally filed in 2020, and seeks to force Meta to divest both WhatsApp and Instagram, under the premise that both were acquired to eliminate competition in the market, in violation of antitrust laws.
The F.T.C.’s original suit claimed that Meta “engaged in a systematic strategy to eliminate threats to its monopoly”, which included the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, who were considered rivals in the market. That original case was dismissed a year later, because the F.T.C., according to the court, failed to establish that Meta had monopoly power in the social media market. The F.T.C. was then granted permission to re-state its case in 2022, which is now looming as an ongoing concern for the social media giant.
2. Taylor Swift Tracks Return to TikTok, Despite Ongoing Dispute With UMG
In a surprise move, Taylor Swift’s music catalog is now available for use on TikTok again.
Earlier this year, relationships between TikTok and major label Universal Music Group (UMG) broke down. The conflict led to UMG pulling their massive music catalogue from TikTok‘s library, disallowing creators to use music from major artists such as Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Drake, SZA, and Taylor Swift. UMG has accused TikTok of lowballing them with offers far lower than their previous licensing arrangement, with TikTok looking to use its power as a music hit-maker to squeeze more out of publishers.
3. Instagram Confirms Profile Notes Are Coming to All Users
Instagram has confirmed that it will soon display Notes on user profiles, providing another way to use its conversation-prompting Notes option to spark more engagement.
Instagram’s profile Notes will provide another means to let people know what you’re up to, or what you’re thinking, while connections will also be able to leave Notes on friends’ profiles to prompt interaction. Along with profile notes, Instagram has also confirmed that its new “Cut Out” sticker option, which enables you to create stickers from entities in photos and videos, is now available to all users, while it’s also bringing Notes prompts to all users as well.
4. Instagram Launches Process to Protect Teens From Sextortion Scams
Instagram’s rolling out some additional protection measures to combat sextortion scams in the app, while also providing more informational notes to help teens understand the implications of intimate sharing online.
First, Instagram is launching a new process that will blur DMs likely to contain nude images, as detected by its systems. Instagram says that it’s also developing new technology to help identify where accounts may potentially be engaging in sextortion scams, “based on a range of signals that could indicate sextortion behavior”. In such cases, Instagram will take action, including reporting users to NCMEC where deemed necessary. Moreover, Instagram will display warnings when people go to share nude images in the app.
5. Snapchat Announces Activations for Festival Season
Snapchat is looking to help its users get into the festival season spirit, with a range of themed Lenses and content challenges aligned with Summer celebrations.
Firstly, Snapchat will host exclusive content from Coachella, with a curated Discover element that will highlight video updates from various creators at the event. The activation aligns with Snapchat’s broader push to move away from professional content from publishers, and more towards highlighting user-generated material in the app. Snapchat is also launching four new geo-fenced filters for Snapchatters to use live from festival grounds.
6. Snapchat Debuts AR Ring Try-on Experience for Cartier Campaign
Snapchat’s got a new kind of AR Try On experience, with the latest campaign from Cartier being used to showcase Snapchat’s new ring try-on, enabling users to see how the latest Cartier “Trinity” ring looks on their finger.
Snap says that it developed the new experience in exclusively with Cartier, with a focus on the quality and reflection of metals and diamonds, as well as the accuracy of the fit. It’s another way for Snap to enhance the shopping experience, allowing users to try out new looks in the app, which could be a big step for online commerce.
7. X Enables Passkey Access for All iOS Users Globally
After enabling Passkey access for U.S.-based users on iOS back in January, X (formerly Twitter) has now announced that all iOS users globally can switch on Passkey login.
Passkeys enable fingerprint and face ID login and utilize cryptographic data transfer to facilitate access. That means that your actual login info remains on your device, providing a more secure process for accessing the app. Indeed, many cybersecurity experts are now recommending that social platforms support Passkey access. TikTok added Passkey support last July, while LinkedIn is also rolling out the same.
8. X to Remove the Option to Hide Blue Tick
X is notifying users who currently have a blue tick in the app that, soon, they’ll no longer have the option to hide it.
X sees the blue checkmark as a signal of authenticity and wants to use it, in part, as an anti-bot measure. In X’s view, all of the blue checkmark accounts are actual, real people. The more real people that have blue ticks, the more the profiles without them stand out as potential bots, thereby reducing their standing in the app. X is likely hoping that making checkmarks more visible will increase the pressure on non-subscribers to consider paying up to get on par with the rest.
9. LinkedIn Announces Verification for Recruiters to Help Address Scam Pitches
LinkedIn has announced a new verification badge for recruiters in the app, which will help to address the raft of recruitment scams and spammy outreach.
Recruiters will now be able to confirm their identity via LinkedIn Recruiter, which will soon include this as an optional process, similar to LinkedIn’s ID confirmation system for regular users, which provides a verification tick, denoting that the user has gone through the ID process. LinkedIn launched its free user verification process in April last year, which sees LinkedIn working with third-party ID verification providers in different regions to confirm the details of users.
10. WhatsApp Is Testing Meta AI Chatbot in India
WhatsApp has reportedly initiated testing of its Meta AI chatbot in India and select global markets. This move comes as part of WhatsApp's efforts to support its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by tapping into its massive user base, particularly in India where it boasts over 500 million users, making it the platform's largest market.
Meta AI, the brainchild of WhatsApp's parent company Meta, is the company’s state-of-the-art chatbot powered by a large language model. Launched in September last year, Meta AI is designed to generate photorealistic images from text prompts and provide responses to user queries seamlessly within chat conversations.
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.