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- 🪓 New Push to Split Meta
🪓 New Push to Split Meta
WhatsApp and Instagram deals under legal fire again
Today’s Round-up
🪓 Meta Faces Breakup Trial
🛍️ Amazon Tests ‘Buy for Me’
🤫 Instagram Tests Reel Codes
🤝 OpenAI Eyes Hardware
💼 BeReal Launches U.S. Ads
Welcome back,
Meta’s back in the courtroom—and this time, it’s trying to keep the family together.
The FTC wants Instagram and WhatsApp split off, claiming the acquisitions crushed competition. Meta’s defense? It points to strong rival products like TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and argues that offering free products doesn’t fit the definition of a monopoly.
Feature
New attempt to force Meta to sell Instagram is underway
The long-awaited antitrust trial between Meta and the Federal Trade Commission began on Monday.
Over the next couple of months, Meta will defend against allegations that it illegally monopolized the "personal social networking services" market through its acquisitions of Instagram ($1bn) and WhatsApp ($19bn).
Meta's defense will highlight competitors like TikTok and YouTube Shorts, arguing they offer "indistinguishable" alternatives to consumers.
The company will also emphasize that it doesn't engage in typical monopolistic behavior, such as raising prices (since its services are free) or slowing innovation.
Meta's opening defense slides were surfaced by The Verge here if you’re curious.
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Google & Meta
🔗 Google rolls out links in AI Overviews for U.S. users
Some terms are now clickable within the AI responses. Clicking these terms will lead to new (traditional) Google searches. Google also added side panel icons that show external links to publishers and third-party websites.
🖥️ Google plans to extend its Discover feed to desktop
The Discover feature is expanding beyond mobile. Logged-in users have started seeing the feed on their desktop homepage. Discover offers personalized content based on users’ search behavior and interests.
🎯 Google Ads adds new retention goals to Performance Max campaigns
The new retention goals in Performance Max let advertisers prioritize high-value lapsed customers. Google also adds automatic landing page image sourcing while campaign-level negative keyword limits jumped from 100 to 10k.
🤫 Instagram tests secret code feature to unlock Reels
The new test lets creators gate their Reels using codes and share hints to unlock them. Reels become accessible to viewers who can guess these codes.
More Headlines
🤝 OpenAI is in talks to acquire Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s AI device startup
The potential deal could reportedly be worth over $500 million. OpenAI may fully acquire the team or pursue a partnership to co-develop AI hardware. The venture, known as "io Products," will include AI-powered consumer devices, like a screenless phone concept.
💼 BeReal launches its ad business in the U.S.
Advertisers in the U.S. will have access to two formats: targeted in-feed ads and full-day takeovers. BeReal plans to add interest-based and location targeting, plus a self-serve ads platform.
🚀 Spotify launches Ad Exchange for real-time programmatic ads
Programmatic buyers now have real-time access to Spotify’s logged-in users across its music inventory, with plans to expand to video and podcasts. The inventory is open to DSPs, including Google Display & Video 360.
🛍️ Amazon tests ‘Buy for Me’ feature, letting shoppers buy third-party products in-app
Customers can buy products from external retailers as part of the test without leaving the Amazon Shopping app. The company says ‘Buy For Me’ enables Amazon to make purchases on behalf of shoppers from third-party websites using its agent AI.
🤖 Microsoft launches Copilot Search to bring generative AI answers to Bing
Copilot Search provides AI-generated summaries like Google AI Overviews, including sources, links, images, and videos.
📸 Snapchat introduces Sponsored AI Lenses for immersive branded experiences
Brands can create generative AI experiences to transform user selfies into immersive, branded scenes.
👾 Reddit now uses Google’s Gemini to power its AI search feature
Reddit Answers now uses Gemini AI to summarize conversations from user-generated content. The move aims to deliver more conversational and accurate responses, offering direct links to related posts and communities.
📣 Reddit launches ‘Partners page’ to let advertisers collaborate with agencies
The new Partners page will let advertisers and agencies run co-branded campaigns and share profiles, credit lines, and workflows across accounts.
📢 Reddit places ads between comments on conversation pages
Advertisers can serve ads between user comments when they run conversation ads. The ads will be labeled as promoted and will come with a CTA for further engagement.
You’re caught up 🎊