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DMs began rolling out Tuesday in 鈥渕ost markets,鈥� excluding Australia, Japan, the EU, and the UK, per TechCrunch. The chats won鈥檛 be encrypted like XChat or WhatsApp. Why it matters: Threads is trying to get out from under Instagram鈥檚 shadow鈥擨nstagram accounts are required for signup, psychologically linking the two for many consumers.

This year alone, Finserv acquired Payfare, a Canada-based earned wage access provider; PCCV, a Dutch payments solution provider; Pinch Payments, a payfac serving merchants in Australia and New Zealand; and Money Media, a Brazilian fintech.

A more affordable YouTube Premium Lite plan鈥攍aunched earlier this year in the US, Australia, Thailand, and Germany鈥攊s now rolling out to users in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the UK at $7.99 per month. Premium Lite removes most video ads on YouTube and YouTube Kids but excludes music, downloads, and background play.

Countries including Australia, Malaysia, Argentina, and Peru will see declines up to -0.9%, while Indonesia, Colombia, and Taiwan will see more modest shrinkage in active user base. These numbers signal a reversal of past expectations, when Facebook was presumed to still be expanding steadily across middle-income and mobile-first economies.

Expansion plans to build more cloud infrastructure in Indonesia, the UK, Australia, and other parts of the US are also on hold or delayed. Microsoft may slow future data center expansion to curb costs as it evaluates tariff effects. CFO Amy Hood acknowledged AI capacity constraints could start in June. Power and space shortages could stall wider AI growth just as enterprise demand heats up.

The news: As generative AI (genAI) use grows, many office workers are using AI without employers鈥� knowledge, per Ivanti鈥檚 2025 Technology at Work Report. 42% of employees in the US, the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, and France are using AI at work, a 61.5% increase YoY. However, 32% are keeping their use of those tools a secret from employers.

Our take: Regulators and lawmakers now have a stronger case to probe TikTok鈥檚 compliance posture鈥攅specially as similar investigations unfold in the US, the UK, and Australia. Persistent privacy problems could accelerate urgency for creators, users, and advertisers to seek alternatives or at least diversify to other platforms, like Instagram or YouTube.

Amid growing concerns over trade tensions and economic volatility, many global brands are reallocating budgets geographically鈥攕hifting spend away from vulnerable regions and toward more stable markets like Canada, Europe, and Australia. Marketers are trading guesswork for guarantees鈥攑rioritizing retail media and CTV for their measurability, accountability, and performance clarity.

Other biotechs are exploring the UK and Australia for early-stage studies, per Endpoints News. Driving the news: The ripple effects of an estimated $1.8 billion in NIH research funding cuts through April include more than 100 clinical trials halted, with hundreds more expected, per The Atlantic.

Australia. Time Spent With Media. Australia led the region in time spent with broadcast TV, at 2:02 daily. That was 45 minutes above the regional average and 17 minutes higher than the global average. But broadcast TV time was down 2 minutes YoY and 16 minutes from 2019. Time spent with podcasts in Australia led the region, at 44 minutes daily.

That includes markets like Australia, where brands such as Lenovo are running Dynamic Product Ads and using Reddit鈥檚 Conversions API to improve ad efficiency and reduce costs. Our take: Reddit鈥檚 international expansion could be transformative for the platform and digital users across the globe.

The company also acquired payfac Pinch Payments, which serves merchants in Australia and New Zealand. And Fiserv will acquire Brazilian fintech Money Money to grow its cash flow and financing solutions for merchants in the market. Our take: Fiserv, along with the rest of the payments industry, faces uncertainty in the wake of tariffs and other macroeconomic concerns.

Spotify reported a successful January launch in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, and now plans to expand the program to eligible creators in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia starting April 29.

We could see similar experiments in other countries where Google pays news organizations to use their content, such as Canada or Australia.

The search offering is available to some subscribers on iOS devices in Australia and New Zealand and will soon come to the US and other markets.

Respondents represented Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.

Sony raised PlayStation 5 prices in Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, citing a 鈥渃hallenging economic environment.鈥� While US prices have held steady for now, Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told CNBC a domestic hike is likely once tariff policy becomes clearer. The Verge also reported that some Sony Bravia OLED TVs now cost about $500 more in the US than in Canada after currency adjustment.

Microsoft also paused talks or stopped development at sites in Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Illinois, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, per Bloomberg. Microsoft said in January that it was on target to spend $80 billion on data centers this fiscal year, which ends in June, but that progress and future investments may slow following the recent tech market crash. Why the withdrawal?

Shein and Temu are rapidly rising in Australia. Amid the rising cost of living, consumers in Australia are increasingly turning to low-cost platforms like Shein and Temu. Between Q4 2023 and Q2 2024, Temu鈥檚 digital buyers grew 32%, and Shein鈥檚 increased 34%, with combined retail sales reaching $2.8 billion in the past year. Trade tensions and geopolitical barriers have grown in the region.

Clover launched in three new markets鈥擝razil, Mexico, and Australia鈥攊n 2024, which helped propel this growth. This European push will further support payment volume and revenue growth. The bigger picture: Clover also rolled out new products last year, which it can now market across Europe.

The Asia-Pacific coverage in the Global Media Intelligence Report includes poll results from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan.

For Gen Z specifically, reviews are an important influence for consumers in the US, UK, France, Italy, and Australia, per AB Tasty. Images of products on a real model are consistently ranked as the most helpful influence, followed by products shown alone and 3D interactive images. Interestingly, virtual try-ons rank last among consumers.

The feature will roll out to Android users in the US, the UK, Australia, Spain, and Poland in the coming weeks. The bigger picture: Google Wallet previously added tap to pay support for its kid-focused Fitbit Ace LTE through partnerships with Greenlight and Acorns. And it鈥檚 not the only mobile wallet to launch kid- and teen-oriented payment features.