Brand Management: Celebrities leave X for Bluesky in response to the US Election, 2024 Youtube Music Recap
X
Social Networking Service: X has updated their terms of service, causing many users to leave the platform in response. In the new terms, any content on the platform can be used to train the company’s AI services for free. Another clause concerning users is the “liquidated damages” clause, highlighting that if users interact with more than 1 million posts in 24 hours they might be liable for up to 15,000 in damages. The updates went into effect on November 15.
Many celebrities have left X due to concerns over Elon Musk’s ownership, and many have joined Bluesky as an alternative. The Guardian leaves the platform due to concerns over the “far-right conspiracy theories", and highlights concerns that the recent presidential election exposed the toxicity of the platform. Bluesky is a social media platform similar to X and created by former X CEO Jack Doresy who no longer works with the company. As Bluesky’s user base grew to 21 million, the company raced to get more servers to keep the site running smoothly. The US. Election appears to be a major trigger of the exodus from X as over 280,000 users closed their accounts on November 5, 2024. Rose Wang, Bluesky's COO, attributed Bluesky’s success to both community-driven and event-driven growth.
Meta is introducing updates to their Messenger calling feature. Users will be able to add AI backgrounds in Messenger video calls by looking into the background sections. Meta is also introducing HD video calls, with HD being the default for calls made on WiFi. Other features such as background noise suppression and voice isolation are being introduced. Users will also be able to add video and audio messages by tapping the recorded message when a call or video call is unanswered.
Instagram is allowing users to reset their recommendations, as they continue to create more protections for teens on the platform. After resetting, recommendations will personalize over time as users interact with content on the platform. When resetting, users will be given the option to review the accounts they follow.
Patreon will allow users to gift memberships, as the holiday season approaches. Users will be allowed to choose the membership tier, and the duration of the subscription, and will be able to include a personalized message. Creators with the subscription billing type with a paid tier that's not restricted can give free membership subscriptions. Members who are already on a paid tier are not able to claim the free membership. Creators can also give discounts and can access the discounts in the promotions tab on the dashboard.
Facebook is removing the option for public followers on Personal profiles. Some users are being told that they must either remove their public followers or switch their profile to Professional Mode. Not all users are being given this choice, as the rollout of this feature is not all at once.
Meta’s Threads will have updates to search, video viewing, and trends. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said that Threads is expanding its list of AI-generated trends and including an AI-generated summary of that trend. The search experience will include more tools to find posts. Landscape mode is now available for videos viewed on a phone.
LinkedIn updated its user agreement and clarified several practices in its privacy policy. Their user agreement will by default have users opt into sharing their data for training AI models. Their privacy policy states LinkedIn will collect personal data that you provide, post, or upload to their services. The data will be used to train AI models, however, users can opt out of this.
Online Video Platform: YouTube has unveiled its 2024 Music recap on the YouTube app. Users can see their listening statistics, top artists, and more information by looking through their recap. In 2024 they added three new stats, that being listening description, listening timeline, and your music movie character. Your listening description has a personalized summary that describes the user's listening habits over the year. The timeline shows important moments from the user’s listening history, and the music movie character is a character inspired by the top tracks and artists.
YouTube has unveiled several updates for viewers on the platform. Eligible viewers can add information or context they feel is not shown in a video. If approved the information will be published under the video. The notes will be anonymous and will be in the writer's own words. YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium members can listen to music and podcasts on Garmin smartwatches. Reactions are also available on live chat on computers and Androids. Users in Canada, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific Islands are now able to listen to podcasts on the YouTube Music app.
YouTube is also introducing updates for creators on the platform. Creators who connect their Shopify stores to YouTube Shopping will be able to view their data in YouTube Analytics. Creators will also be able to upload YouTube shorts up to three minutes in length, however, shorts longer than one minute that have an active content ID claim will be blocked. Bulk upload on Android is not available as YouTube has started to phase out the ability to share multiple videos at once.
YouTube is introducing the NFL Sunday Ticket Student Plan for the 2024-25 NFL season on YouTube primetime Channels for $109. Members will be able to watch Sunday afternoon games on CBS and FOX channels, not in their local area. Pre-season games and post-season games will not be included with the NFL Sunday Ticket. To be eligible you must be 18 years old, enrolled at an accredited college or university, and be verified as a student by SheerID. Users must be local to the US to purchase the plan.
YouTube has allowed viewers to give gifts to creators in the YouTube partner program in the US. Gifts in the form of Jewels, are virtual bundles that fans can send to eligible creators during live streams. Jewels will only be available to purchase on the YouTube app. Hype is a new feature announced at Made on YouTube, that allows viewers to promote a video, and help creators reach new audiences.
TikTok’s collaboration with the National PTA provides online safety for teens and families. TikTok is helping the National PTA award over $300,000 of funding to 100 local and regional PTSAs at high school campuses. The money will go to help them implement Create with Kindness, a program that will attempt to create conversations between teens and their families about being safe online. The program includes conversations between teenagers and their parents, panel discussions by teens sharing the support they require from trusted adults, and a lesson on TikTok’s safety tools and resources. TikTok is also updating its TikTok Guide for Parents, an overview for families to create a safe experience for teens on the platform.
TikTok is teaming up with Rauw to include a new in-app experience for his latest album, Cosa Nuestra. Rauw Alejandro is the first Latin artist to partner with TikTok for a massive campaign. Fans will be able to visit his TikTok shop to purchase exclusive merchandise and have a chance to be featured in the official Fan Spotlight carousel.
TikTok also introduced a new multimedia campaign with Jin of BTS for the release of his first solo album. Fans can interact with the #HappyProject to get exclusive in-app awards. To celebrate, fans can search ‘Jin’ or ‘BTS’ on TikTok. Fans will be given missions that will allow them to unlock an exclusive profile frame.
Meta
Industry: Elon Musk’s platform X is suing the state of California over a state law targeting AI-generated election connections under the claim that it violates the First Amendment. The law requires social media companies to remove deceptive content related to candidates and elections 4 months before an election in California, and if the content is related to election officials 2 months after an election. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill into law in September. The complaint was filed in Sacramento federal county by X. Newsom vowed to ban deceptive content after Musk shared an altered video of Vice President Kamala Harris on X. Newsom’s office said that the laws around AI-generated election content do not ban satire and parodies, but requires AI to be disclosed.
There is a long history of the strongest First Amendment protections for speech critical of government officials and candidates for public office that includes tolerance for potentially false speech made in the context of such criticisms.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said social media firms would be required to destroy personal information related to verifying the age of users, as the government starts what they call a world-leading ban on users under 16. The Australian government is planning to trial an age-verification system to enforce an age limit. Elon Musk criticized the legislation as an attempt to control internet access for Australians.
There will be very strong and strict privacy requirements to protect people's personal information, including an obligation to destroy information provided once age has been verified.
Despite Meta’s attempt to have the Cambridge Analytica lawsuit tossed out, the U.S. Supreme Court is moving forward with the multibillion-dollar lawsuit. The ruling allows an appellate court decision to potentially leave Meta responsible for financial damages investors claim they incurred. The investors brought the lawsuit alleging that the failure to disclose the abuse of user’s data fueled a drop in the stock prices of the company.
“The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court. We are disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision not to clarify this part of the law.”
The EU says Blueskys is violating EU regulations by not disclosing required information. Media platforms regardless of size are required to have a website page showing how many members they have in the EU and where they are legally established. A spokesperson said because Bluesky falls under the threshold of a very large platform under the EU's Digital Services Act, they have not contacted the company. They have instead asked the 27 national governments to find a trace of Bluesky.
