Facebook Considers a Ban on Political Ads Leading up to 2020 Presidential Election
Talks of a political ad ban during November comes after brands started pulling their ads in the most recent Facebook boycott. This isn’t the first time Mark Zuckerberg and his team have floated around the idea of doing a blackout period during election months. However, it is the first time there has been significant pressure from users to do so. This announcement of a potential blackout period could significantly reduce voter suppression for this year’s election.
Banning TikTok in the U.S. Causes Growing Concern for Its Gen Z and Millennial Creators
The U.S. announces potentially banning TikTok over national security concerns, and TikTok users are not happy. For many Gen Z and Millennials users, TikTok has been a sanctuary to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been not only a source of community and identity but also a part of their livelihood. With talks of a ban, some popular creators are already moving to different platforms and taking their followers with them.
Will Byte Become the New TikTok?
TikTok competitor, Byte, sees its downloads multiply after possible TikTok ban in the U.S. Byte was created by Vine co-founder to be Vine’s replacement. Still, despite the popularity of Vine, TikTok surpassed Byte in-app usage globally. Popular TikTok creators are now flocking to Byte to diversify their platforms and save their short-form video careers. Byte is wasting almost no time jumping at this opportunity and is already making updates to feature more TikTok-like tools.
Instagram Allows Users to Pin Top Comments With New Comments Feature
Instagram’s new feature allows all its users to pin up to three comments within their comments section. The concept for this feature is to encourage more civil discussion between users and followers. It’s too early to say whether this update will help conversations move in a more positive direction, but for brands, it could be a helpful tool to amplify common questions and answers.
Twitter Takes Emergency Measures to Block Bitcoin Scam
Reports say this is one of the worst cyber attacks to hit a major social platform like Twitter yet. Accounts like Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and Kim Kardashian were targeted, and Twitter had to take significant action by blocking Tweets from verified accounts for a short period to protect all its high-profile users. This is still a call for all social platforms to advance their security measures for the future.
