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Meta鈥檚 Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp currently account for 10% of global fixed and 22% of mobile internet usage, per Sandvine. Those stats shine a spotlight on the company鈥檚 growing influence on digital interactions and content consumption as it expands into new regions.

There are three notable exceptions: Messaging platforms like WhatsApp, gaming platforms, and services with educational content including YouTube are exempt from the regulations. This isn鈥檛 a blanket ban: Users 15 and under will still have access to platforms that allow them to see some content without creating an account. What now?

And we were doing our operational reviews this week, and the head of Facebook, the head of Instagram, the head of WhatsApp was literally...

I think most of these features are on WhatsApp, if not all of them. And WhatsApp isn't as popular here in the US as it is in other countries. So I don't expect it to be as big of a driver of revenue, but it's certainly something that's ramping up and it is a high priority for the company. Marcus Johnson (15:24):. Yeah.

Also, they need user consent to link personal data gathered from different core platforms within their portfolios (e.g., Meta linking WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook data). That will significantly impact advertising opportunities. Do I have to comply if I鈥檓 not an EU-based business? You will need to comply with both acts if you do business in any of the EU member states.

The news: Meta鈥檚 focus on AI-powered ad targeting and content recommendation is fueling engagement and monetization across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Revenues reached $40.6 billion, up 19% YoY and above expectations of $40.3 billion for Q3 2024. However, AI-driven investments also come at a high cost as Meta scales its data centers and infrastructure.

And I think we're also seeing Meta really prioritize WhatsApp, and that's a little bit different, but I think their focus on their messaging app is certainly a sign of what they're placing importance on in the US specifically. So there are certainly signs there. And I think in conversations I've been having with marketers, they're not putting a ton of money towards this yet.

The social media giant is planning to use AI-powered search for real-time answers across its ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, without third-party dependencies, per The Information. Parts are falling into place: The report comes days after Meta signed a multiyear deal with Reuters to provide news within Meta AI.

"In the US, because there's been this longer tradition of other channels for accessing news via multiple platforms, there might be a bigger challenge for 奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫,鈥� he said. Chadha also said feature creep, or adding features without a clear benefit, could be an issue with WhatsApp.

There have also been reports of scammers impersonating banks on WhatsApp to defraud customers. In January 2024, the official X account of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was hacked and posted misinformation in the regulator鈥檚 name. X blamed the SEC for not having enabled two-factor authentication, a security feature it limited to its paid subscription tier in March 2023.

Meta is reportedly working on an AI-powered search tool for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp users to answer queries in-app rather than ceding traffic to Google and Bing, per The Information. That effort could address investor concerns about user growth. Our take: Meta dominates social media, and its Q3 results show the company isn鈥檛 wavering.

Carrefour Brasil will be one of Latin America鈥檚 first food retailers to have a store on WhatsApp. Brazil houses the world鈥檚 second-largest base of WhatsApp users after India, and Carrefour鈥檚 decision to use the platform is a strategic one. 鈥淲丑补迟蝉础辫辫 is Brazil鈥檚 operating system," said chief digital officer Sam James. The country 鈥渃an鈥檛 function without it.鈥�.

So meta integrating its AI functionality into its search bars across Facebook and Instagram and WhatsApp early this year. And then if we extend that to retail media as well. So this is what I mean about interconnectedness. Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf:. Yeah, it's hard.

Meta, for example, will start allowing EU users the option to unlink their Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp accounts from each other, weakening its advertising capabilities. And Apple will allow alternative app stores and payment methods on iOS, but with a new fee structure that makes interoperability possible, but not always practical, for app owners and developers.

Apps like WhatsApp, heavily used by Gen Z, could experience a decline in messaging volume during school hours if students cannot access their smartphones. Smartphone gaming, a popular activity among teens and children, would be affected by a school day ban. Companies specializing in mobile gaming could observe a reduction in user engagement and in-app purchases.

A software update released last week added the ability to record and send voice memos from the glasses to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. It goes both ways: Some users of Ray-Ban Meta are reportedly doxing people via facial recognition technology.

If the suit is successful, Meta may be forced to divest Instagram and/or WhatsApp. The resulting social media advertising landscape will look almost unrecognizable compared with today鈥檚. US v. Google (ad tech). In a suit filed in January 2023, the DOJ alleged Google has monopolized the advertising technology market through 鈥渟erial acquisitions and anticompetitive auction manipulation.鈥�

Millennials are the largest population on WhatsApp. They make up 36.4% of platform users in the US, while Gen Z and Gen X both hover around 23%. This might be a result of timing: WhatsApp came into prominence when mobile web-based chatting was just emerging and text messaging was limited or expensive. This time frame also coincided with millennials鈥� peak travel years, making it easier鈥攁nd free!

It has signaled that messaging, specifically on WhatsApp, will become a crucial part of its business moving forward. Meta鈥檚 click-to-message ads that send users into conversations with brands on Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp reached a $10 billion revenue run rate in 2023, per Meta. Key Takeaway. Continued investments across platforms could lead even more Gen Zers to use social for DMs.

Symbiotic benefits: In addition to being a threat to Meta鈥檚 Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram users, online scams pose a financial risk to banks. Users can be tricked into sending money to bad actors through a variety of methods. Authorized push payment (APP) fraud among UK consumers totaled about 拢460 million ($572 million) in 2023, per Mastercard.

Meta may reveal updates to its Ray-Ban smart glasses, including improved AI capabilities powered by Llama 3.1, allowing users to interact with the glasses for tasks like object identification, translation, and integration across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta is expected to showcase advancements in mixed reality, providing insights into how AI and AR will work together.

The FTC鈥檚 2024 study covers services owned by Amazon, Meta, YouTube, TikTok-owner ByteDance, X (formerly Twitter), Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp, and Snap. The agency said that the problematic data collection and ad targeting practices it found are consistent across the companies and that inadequate guardrails encourage 鈥渆ver-more invasive鈥� data collection.