Meta slammed for reducing WhatsApp use to 13
Tech giant Meta has been accused of “putting profits before protecting our children” by several campaign groups as a ramification of lowering the minimum age of Whatsapp users from 16 to 13 late last week in the UK and EU.
Smartphone Free Childhood (campaign group) argued Meta and other industry leaders are putting “profits before protecting our children” and communities are “fed up” with the lack of regulations.
Meta has responded by reassuring that alterations of the lowering of the age limit are in line with the majority of countries.
Minimising the backlash further this week, Meta has released a series of features to protect youths from “sextortion” and intimate image abuse.
Read more here.
Do AI influencers pose a risk to the trust of influencer marketing?
TikTok and Instagram are reported to be developing features of AI-generated influencers.
Bots, who look and act like influencers, will interact with followers in real-time, responding to comments, messages, and offering personalised recommendations and promoting products in-app. This level of automation promises to streamline workflows and deepen connections with audiences transforming efficiency.
Trust and authenticity is a major factor in influencer marketing – done well, authentic influencer marketing has the power to affect real change. For brands who have become frustrated by the humanity of real world influencers and all their flaws, this might seem like an appealing and controllable action.
China’s version of TikTok, called Douyin, has already implemented the AI feature that Chinese audiences seem to be receptive to. However, the influencer team at Democracy strongly believes that influencer marketing requires real human interaction and a personal touch. They have also expressed concerns about the authenticity and transparency of AI-powered influencers, which could potentially harm the reputation and trust of brands.
Introducing the feature would be a commercial decision by TikTok to amplify the e-commerce revenue streams and maximise time spent by users on the app.
LinkedIn accelerating collaborative article opportunities
LinkedIn has developed a shortcut feature to point users in the direction of recommended articles they can expand on based on their own personal expertise and niche.
Growth of collaborative articles has seen a spike with a 270% increase in readership since September 2023 and has proven to boost engagement within the app.
Read more here.
Seamless connections: Meta testing DMs through Threads
Direct messages will soon be available via Threads application with users reporting changes in the appearance of the interface.
The feature will open opportunities for more streamlined communications for users and direct messages will be sent through to the recipient’s Instagram inbox and managed there.
Read more here.
X Ditches the ‘Hide Blue Tick’ Option – What Does This Mean for Verified Users?
Verified users have been notified informing them that they will soon no longer have the option to hide the verification icon next to their profile.
According to X, the “blue tick” is designed to help readers understand who’s real and who’s a bot. It’s granted to anyone who’s paying for X Premium and more recently to people who have over 2500 verified followers.
But many users of X have preferred to hide the tick, rather than publicly declare they’re paying money towards Elon Musk and his controversial business practices.
Read more here.