The government of Canada has ordered social video app TikTok to shut down its business operations in the country, following a national security review under the Investment Canada Act. and potential risks posed by TikTok and parent ByteDance. “The government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content,” explains François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry. “The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice.” Canada previously banned the TikTok app from official government devices, while the U.S. passed a law that could also ban the app. Continue reading Canada Orders TikTok to Shut Down Its Business Operations

Alphabet’s revenue increased by 15 percent during the latest quarter, topping $88.3 billion. Powered by advertising and cloud services, profits surged 34 percent to $26.3 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $22.9 billion. The company experienced continued growth in the online marketplace with popular consumer services such as Google Search and YouTube while also expanding in B2B with cloud offerings. All this as the government explores dismantling its business while competitors such as TikTok and Amazon come after its market share. Advertising growth slowed in Q3, yet still notched a healthy year-over-year increase of 10.4 percent. Continue reading Alphabet Profits Climb 34 Percent, Powered by Cloud and Ads

Netflix wants to make viewing a more memorable and interactive experience with Moments, a new mobile feature that makes it easy to save, relive and share favorite scenes from movies and series. Launching globally on iOS and coming soon to Android, Moments not only allows you to revisit pivotal plot points, but also lets you restart the film or episode right from that bookmark. Sharing Moments on Instagram, Facebook and other social platforms is reportedly just as easy. You can share a Moment as you create it or, from the My Netflix tab, you can select a scene and tap to share it across all of your platforms. Continue reading Netflix Enables Bookmarking, Sharing of Scenes with Moments

Actors Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are guests this week on digital-first series “Celebrity Substitute,” debuting with host Julian Shapiro-Barnum. The 25-year-old comedian is best known for his work on the viral online series “Recess Therapy,” in which he interviews young children playing in New York City for Instagram and YouTube videos. The new series, designed for mobile platforms, features celebs serving as substitute teachers in 5- to 8-minute episodes released on YouTube, with clips also shared via TikTok and Instagram. Amazon serves as a sponsored partner of the series as part of the tech giant’s push into branded entertainment. Continue reading Branded Content Series Challenges Celebs to Teach Classes

Reddit is expanding its keyword targeting advertising program, introducing it in more places and adding AI-powered recommendations to help ads appear in the most relevant environments across the platform. Keyword targeting is now available for feed ads in addition to conversations, which were previously the only placement available. Reddit is also launching an AI feature called dynamic audience expansion that works with keyword targeting to place ads before a wider range of viewers based on the objectives of the campaign. Since going public on the NYSE in March, Reddit has been under pressure to increase ad revenue. Continue reading Reddit Drives Precision in Conversation Keyword Ads Using AI

Although TikTok has been carrying ads since 2018, it hasn’t really caught on as an advertising vehicle. Now the company is trying to change that by launching Smart+, an AI-powered ad buying tool that is the ByteDance company’s version of Google Performance Max, Meta Advantage+ or Pinterest Performance+. The idea is that by automating campaign management, marketers may be inclined to spend more. Smart+, which launched last week, automates everything from creative development to bidding, targeting and measurement, making ad buying easier on the short-form video app. Continue reading TikTok Intros AI-Driven Ad Campaign Automation with Smart+

Beginning October 15, YouTube Shorts will extend its maximum length to 3 minutes. The move competitively positions the Google unit against TikTok, which allows for videos of up to 10 minutes when recording, or an hour when uploading. Regular YouTube accommodates videos of up to 12 hours for verified accounts and 15 minutes for unverified accounts, whether live or uploaded. But in terms of marketing focus, the current attention is on short-form video. YouTube is also updating the Shorts player, adding templates, and introducing a Shorts trends page for mobile. Continue reading YouTube Updates Shorts Player, Extends Length to 3 Minutes

TikTok is updating its Live subscription offering, renaming the monetization offering simply “Subscription,” opening it up to eligible non-Live creators in regions including the U.S., Japan, Brazil, France, the UK and Germany. Like the third-party subscription platform Patreon, TikTok’s Subscription allows fans to pay creators for exclusive content and other perks. In participating regions, creators can offer fans monthly subscriptions at three price tiers, each with its own parameters and perks. TikTok launched Live subscriptions in 2022 and announced in March that it would be revamping the feature to allow more users to monetize. Continue reading New TikTok Live Subscriptions Help More Creators Monetize

A newly redesigned Snapchat experience is built around a three-tab user interface called Simple Snapchat. As part of that effort, the social platform is launching more generative video features, including text-to-video as part of the app’s Lens Studio AR authoring tool. Easy Lens allows the quick generation of Lenses by typing text prompts, making it possible to do things like experiment with Halloween costumes or explore looks for back to school. Launching in beta for select creators, Snap says the new features are designed for all ability levels. The company is also updating its GenAI Suite and adding an Animation Library of “hundreds of high-quality movements.” Continue reading Snapchat Is Getting a Redesign and Generative Text-to-Video

Nine months after lawmakers grilled social networks for exposing children to harm, Meta Platforms has announced that Instagram’s teen accounts will be set to “private” by default. Instagram Teen Accounts have built-in protections, limiting who can contact the underage account holders as well as the content they see. “We’ll automatically place teens into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict,” Meta revealed in a blog post. To avoid leaving teens feeling their wings were clipped, Meta says there will also be new features designed expressly for them. Continue reading Instagram Sets Its New ‘Teen Accounts’ to Private by Default

A new study by Roku and National Research Group found that streaming may be a more effective marketing tool for theatrical exhibition than social media or television. According to the research, 44 percent of what the survey categorizes as “moviegoing streamers” claim a trailer on a streaming service would increase their interest in seeing a film in a theater while 43 percent indicate the same of trailers on social media. These numbers slightly edged out the 41 percent who say ads on broadcast or cable TV would encourage them to visit a theater. However, it’s worth noting that the survey also suggests 72 percent pay more attention to TV commercials than ads on social platforms. Continue reading Roku and NRG Study Finds Streaming Benefits Theater-Going

YouTube is introducing AI detection tools designed to allow people to learn when their face and/or voice are copied and used in third-party videos. As part of the effort, YouTube’s existing Content ID program that protects copyrighted music will expand to include more broad-based voice simulation detection technology. The new tools aim to protect “people from a variety of industries — from creators and actors to musicians and athletes,” according to the company. The Google-owned platform is also coming up with a way to address unauthorized use of its content for training AI models. Continue reading YouTube Adding Tools to Protect Against Unauthorized AI Use

TikTok has published an internal research study indicating the movie viewing habits of its users, and how advertisers can use the TikTok Spotlight movie marketing tool released last month. The promotional vehicle was designed to help TikTok users discover films, as well as influence their viewing choices and drive audiences to theaters. TikTok’s research found that 47 percent of TikTok users say that while on TikTok they discovered a new movie coming to theaters, and were “inspired to take action, including 36 percent purchasing a ticket,” which they can facilitate in-app through Spotlight. Continue reading Film Promotion Tool TikTok Spotlight Shares Audience Insight

After teasing a big screen interface for months, social media company X has released the beta version of its new TV app called X TV, designed to provide “a massive leap forward in transforming X into a video-first platform,” while looking to compete with industry leaders such as Google’s YouTube. Importantly, the new presentation provides X with video-specific play for ad partners, which the Elon Musk-owned company has been attempting to lure back after loosened content moderation standards sent many fleeing. X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the X TV app is debuting ad-free, but reports indicate the company will introduce ad options in the future. Continue reading X Launches a Beta Version of Its Video Offering on App Stores

A federal judge has partially blocked a new Texas law by disallowing requirements that social platforms identify minors and filter content for their safety. The Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, signed last year, threatens free speech due to its “monitoring and filtering” requirements the court ruled as the basis for a temporary injunction. Under the law, registered users under 18 will be subject to limited data collection, target advertising bans and parental consent for financial transactions. SCOPE would affect a range of online services, with large social platforms a focus. Continue reading Judge Blocks Sections of a Texas Law Meant to Protect Minors